


Fire of the Spirit

by Razial



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Halloween Memories, Hyena Xander Harris, Romance, Soldier Xander Harris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 19:15:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10315130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Razial/pseuds/Razial
Summary: Set during season four. After a fierce battle with Ethan Rayne Xander is struck by a stray blast cast by Willow, it breaks down the barriers inside his mind unleashing the two spirits that have been joined with him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The first couple of chapters will be somewhat limited and of a different caliber than the rest of the story due to the fact I stopped writing this story for a year or two before coming back and finishing it, by which time my writing had improved and I had begun writing longer chapters and thus you will notice the difference.

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters in the show. They belong to Joss Whedon. I am not gaining any profit from this story.

I'd like to thank my Beta's Gross & Hawklan for all of their help

 

****

Xander watched as Buffy dived at Ethan again, but the black mage was faster having been boosted by his own magic and the demon he was working with. Giles ran at his former friend only to be flung backwards by a magical blast from Ethan. Willow and her new friend Tara were still working on their joint spell, but they needed more time. Making his decision he ran straight at the distracted Ethan and kicked him, with every bit of strength in him, into Buffy's back kick which sent him into a nearby door.

"Xander, I told you to stay out of this," Buffy hissed as she helped Giles to his feet.

"But?" Xander started to protest.

"Just do as you're told!" Buffy shouted as she went to attack the enhanced mage again.

Xander frowned, hating the way his supposed friend treated him. It had been like this ever since the re-opening of the Hellmouth incident. He still hadn't told them what had really happened during that time, how he had taken out the zombie gang which had threatened to blow up the school where Buffy and the others were fighting. He knew if he did tell them; none of them would have believed him, not even Willow. Ever since the fluke, things between them had been terrible. They were still slowly rebuilding their friendship, but he knew it would never be what it used to be before Buffy turned up.

"Xander, look out!" he suddenly heard Giles cry out.

He looked up just in time to see a streaking ball of purple light lunge straight at him. Before he could even think about jumping out of its way, it struck him in the head, sending him flying through a fence. The last thing he saw was Tara and Willow running towards him. Both had looks of fear in their eyes. As unconscious finally took him, he caught a last look of Tara's face before the darkness claimed him.

****

Giles shook his head as he looked down at the still unconscious form of their friend. He had taken the full force of the magical blast as Ethan deflected it. The mage had finally been defeated by the joint spell as he and Buffy both managed to grab his arms stopping him from casting any defensive spells to counter it, as he had the first time. He shook his head as he walked back into his living room to find Buffy and Willow once again arguing over whether or not Xander should still be helping patrol and dealing with the various bad guys they dealt with on a regular basis.

He himself had stayed out of it, as had Tara and the newly arrived Riley, Buffy's boyfriend. Granted, in his mind, Riley was a better boyfriend for Buffy than Angel had been, but something about the young man made him dislike him. Most likely it had to do with the military outfit he was working with. He didn't trust what they were up to, he felt it could only lead to trouble.

"No Willow, you listen to me, Xander has almost gotten himself killed time and time again. It's time you face facts, he's not cut out for this; he never was!" Buffy shouted rousing Giles from his thoughts.

"And I suppose saving your life was just a fluke then right?" Willow shouted back.

"He wouldn't have made it down into the master's lair without Angel, remember that," Buffy replied.

"And Angel wouldn't have even done that if Xander hadn't made him go. Let's face it Buffy, he was too busy brooding over you to be any help. In fact, all of us were except Xander. He was the only one who didn't just accept it," Willow returned her voice rising.

"Enough both of you!" Giles shouted finally deciding to step in and stop them.

"Giles, you agree with me, right?" Buffy said facing him.

"Yes and no," Giles replied. "Xander is not very strong, I agree with you there. However, he can be trained to fight just as much as the rest of us can. It is also his decision to fight, and no one can take that from him, not even you."

"But Giles, he's gonna get killed," Buffy argued.

"You don't know that. He's taken just as many knocks and bangs as the rest of us and come out fine and Willow is right, you should show a bit more respect for him after all he has done for us," Giles told her.

Buffy frowned and then just turned and left. Riley gave them an apologetic smile and followed after her. Willow shook her head, clearly still upset with her friend and walked back in to check on Xander, leaving Giles alone with the shy quite witch, she had befriended, Tara.

"Sorry, they're not usually like this," he commented as he removed his glasses and polished them.

"I. it's OK, Mr. Giles," Tara replied, smiling slightly.

****

Buffy stormed away from Giles' place, the frown on her face still in place. Riley had trouble keeping up with his girlfriend. He had never seen her get so mad so fast. He wondered if Buffy's arguments against Xander patrolling with them were based on real facts and not some deeper feeling she had for her friend. He shook his head. The idea was to crazy to even think about. All he had seen from Xander was that he was a clown who could only tell bad jokes. He hadn't seen any sign he was anything more.

"Buffy, you OK?" he asked, trying to break the silence that had descended since they had left.

"Fine," Buffy replied, her voice still full of anger.

Riley sighed and shook his head, wondering how long this bout of anger would last. He decided to just keep quiet and wait and see what happened.

****

Giles reentered the room where they had put Xander. Willow was next to his bed asleep, obviously worn out from the night's activities. Although things between Xander and Willow were still somewhat strained since the whole Fluke business, he had noted both of them still furiously protected the other whenever they were attacked, either physically or verbally. It was clear to him the deepness of their friendship was still firmly rooted in them. He turned and walked back down the stairs and into the living room where he found Tara had fallen asleep on his settee. Smiling slightly, he turned and walked over to his own armchair, sat down in it and began to read from one of his many books, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

****

Xander slowly opened his eyes and slowly tried to sit up, but quickly stopped when his head began to pound. He tried to gain his bearings. How had he ended up at Giles place? He recognized the watcher's home, having been here many times before. He heard a faint whisper from somewhere and turned to look around, but saw nothing. He turned the other way to find Willow asleep in a nearby chair. He smiled and was glad she had stayed to see if he was OK. The smile faded as he again heard the faint whisper. It was closer this time and yet he could see nothing. He tried to sit up again, managing it this time. He paused at the edge of the bed still feeling the effects of whatever it was that had hit him. He looked around the room again before standing and walking over to the nearby bathroom. He quickly ran some cold water and splashed it in his face. As he looked up, he could have sworn he saw his eyes glow an eerie green. Shaking his head, believing it to be the after effects of whatever knocked him out cold. He walked down the stairs quietly, so as not to wake his sleeping friend. He was surprised to see Tara passed out on Giles' sofa. He stayed there, watching the sleeping witch for a few minutes until he heard the whisper again. This time he could hear it more clearly, it was telling him to find a mate. He frowned, as the words passed over him, something about it seemed oddly familiar.

"Feeling better, Xander?" He jumped as Giles' voice came from behind him.

"Damn G-man, don't do that," he shot back as he turned to face the former Watcher. "And yeah, I'm feeling better. Mind telling me what hit me?" he asked.

"The spell Willow and Tara were creating was deflected by Ethan and it hit you squarely in the head. There was no chance of you jumping out of its way," Giles informed him.

"I guess that's why my head feels like it's been cracked open like an egg," Xander said, as he tried to ignore the whispering voices he kept hearing.

"Most likely and now, back to bed with you, just in case. It's too late for any of you to go home now, and try not to wake Willow," he cautioned.

"OK Giles," Xander agreed as he turned and made for the stairs, pausing to stare at Tara again as one of the voices grew stronger.  
2\. Chapter 2

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 2

Xander opened his eyes to find Willow looking down at him, for an instant he felt the urge to jump her, but he quickly forced it down. Fearful of where that urge had come from he quickly sat up, ignoring the slight pain he still felt from the night before. He noticed Willow looked somewhat guilty, most likely for the spell backfiring and hitting him.

"You ok?" she asked quietly.

"Better than last night," he replied, ignoring the whispering he continued to hear, as he finally stood. "That was quite a spell you and Tara came up with. Knocked me out cold and I should thank you, had a great night's sleep," he tried to joke.

"Xander, it isn't funny. The spell could have done real damage to you," Willow argued, her face completely serious.

"I know, sorry," he apologized.

"I'm sorry, we should have been more watchful of what was happening," Willow told him.

"My fault for just standing there, but Buffy had pissed me off for telling me to butt out," he told her.

Willow didn't respond to his statement. Her loyalties had always been divided since Buffy had come into their lives. She always tried to remain neutral, but sometimes she had to take sides. This time, she decided to just stay out of it.

"Giles has made some breakfast. Get cleaned up and join us," she told him, before turning and leaving the room.

Xander walked towards the bathroom, when he suddenly became dizzy. He grabbed the wall for support as the whispering grew too loud. Wild laughter soon filled his head. He felt an icy chill as he recognized the laugh and the memories of his time possessed by the hyena came back in force. Trying to call out for help, he found he couldn't move his mouth. Growing more fearful of what was happening to him; he tried to move toward the stairs, only to fall back onto the bed as a swell of pain engulfed him.

The laughing became more intense, as he started to feel a presence at the back of his mind, one he believed to be long gone. He felt himself begin to lose control of his body and as he let loose a last feeble cry for help, he saw the presence's plans for his friends, especially Buffy. It wanted revenge for being defeated the first time. It wanted her blood.

****

Tara suddenly felt a wave of wrongness run through the home of the Watcher. Her special senses went wild as she heard Xander come down the stairs. As soon as she looked at him, she knew something wasn't right. There was something different about him, especially his eyes. They seemed darker, scarier than they normally were. She stayed quiet, as he sat at the table and began to eat. She could sense him watching her during the whole breakfast, making her uncomfortable.

When Faith had returned to Sunnydale and switched bodies with Buffy, she had known, thanks to her heightened senses. It had taken a bit of time to get the others to agree with her, but, in the end, she had been right. She wondered what would happen if she voiced her fears about Xander after he left. She shivered, as she felt Xander's gaze bore into her. She didn't dare meet his eyes for fear of what she would see there. He was acting normally, talking to Willow and Giles, and yet something about the undertone of his voice again alerted her to something being off.

"Anyway I'm going to go, get some clean clothes and a wash. I'll check in with you later," Xander suddenly spoke up startling Tara who had been too busy with her thoughts.

"Are you sure you're feeling well enough?" Giles asked. "No more side effects from being hit by that spell?" he added.

"No, I'm fine," Xander smiled. To Tara, even his smile was darker. She even noticed a frown on Willow's face as he left.

****

As soon as he closed the door, Xander's smile became even darker as he planned how to get his revenge on the Slayer. Although he wasn't as strong as the first time he had taken over this host, he still had his power and strength both boosted by the spell that had unlocked the barriers that had kept him locked inside the host's mind. The second spirit was fighting his control of the host body, but, for now, it wasn't strong enough to displace him and the host was no match at all, although he could still hear the humans voice cursing him.

A feral laugh escaped him, as he listened to the humans voice making threats. The first time, he had been completely overwhelmed by his spirit, but this time, the host had managed not to be completely subdued. If the host and the second spirit both joined their energies, then that would be a problem; but, for now, he was in complete control. As he searched the host's memories, the blond witch who was new to the group really interested him. He could smell the power emanating from her and that was what he wanted in his new pack, and especially his mate. The Slayer was no longer viable. He wondered if he could get the blond witch to be his mate. The smile that graced his face would have been recognizable by any of his friends who had been around when he possessed his host the first time.

*****

Riley walked towards Buffy's house to find Xander walking toward him. As he came within hearing range, he could have sworn he heard a wicked laugh escape his girlfriend's friend. Frowning as he passed, he turned to see Xander staring at him with cold eyes. Forcing down a shiver he continued onto Buffy's, wondering what was up with him. He guessed he was still upset about been dismissed by Buffy during the fight last night. He didn't know why Buffy was even friends with the guy. All he ever did was make jokes and get in the way.

*****

Xander frowned as he passed the Slayer's mate, he could sense that the man disliked his host. He searched his host's memories and noticed that his host didn't like him either. Smiling, he began to plan his revenge, starting with the Slayer's boyfriend. He would have some fun and maybe, just maybe, make his host get the respect he had been denied by the Slayer and her boyfriend.

*****

Tara walked towards her dorm, still trying to decide what to do about Xander. Should she tell her fears to Willow and the others, or go and see Xander herself. Something inside her felt both fearful and excited about such a meeting. Shaking her head she decided that making sure her fears were correct was the better course of action. She decided to see Xander after her courses were finished.  
3\. Chapter 3

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 3

 

Tara approached Xander's apartment with the fear and excitement running through her system. She couldn't stop it. The look in Xander's eyes, when he stared at her, as he was leaving, was almost primal. Although she never had been attracted to any guys, the look had aroused her like nothing had before. Part of it scared her, while the other wanted more of it. Shivering she finally arrived outside his apartment door. The rational side of her wondered if she was doing the right thing by going to see him alone. The door opened before she could even think about turning around and going home. She froze instantly as Xander's now primal look locked onto her. The fear and excitement began to rise, as he continued to stare at her. A small smile began to form on his face. She couldn't move; the look had her pinned.

"Tara," Xander spoke, his voice was different now than it had been at Giles's place. It now held menace and confidence.

"X-X-Xander," she replied, her fear momentarily getting the better of her.

Xander smiled as he smelled the fear, excitement and arousal coming of the blond witch. He had wondered if he had caught a small bit of excitement coming of her as he left the watcher's house. The hyena inside Xander was hard to put down and not to just take the witch right then and there, but it had decided to play with its future mate for a while. It had been locked away in the deepest recesses of its hosts mind for four years and it wanted to take its time it getting its revenge and it wanted to take its time in playing with the minds of its enemies.

It knew the Slayer and her friends were not to be taken lightly, even Tara. Although to everyone else, including her friends, she appeared shy and fearful, it wasn't true. Its host had guessed correctly that there was more to the blond witch than they could see. The power that she could control made her a very dangerous person. She could even beat the Slayer, if she became so inclined. It had to tread carefully, if it wanted to succeed in making Tara its mate. This would be part of its revenge on not only the red- haired witch and the Slayer, but on its host as well.

"Xander?" Tara repeated.

"Come in," he said, opening the door wider.

Tara didn't hesitate. She could still feel that something was wrong with Xander, but at the moment she was too interested in the rising excitement inside of her to care.

****

"What's up, Will?" Buffy asked, as she entered the magic shop.

"I'm not too sure. It was Xander," the redhead answered.

"What about him?" Buffy asked, frowning at the mention of her other friend.

"The look he had on his face when he left Giles's this morning. It was so familiar and made me worried, but I can't remember why," Willow explained.

"Is that it?" Buffy asked, uninterested.

"He also kept glancing at Tara during breakfast, his look was almost predatory," Willow added.

Buffy looked up at that, the word predatory tugged at her memory. She also felt dread begin to well up in her. She didn't know why, and that bothered her, but Xander was harmless. He'd always had been, so she shook it off.

"Maybe being blasted by that spell just shook him up a bit, another reason why he shouldn't be patrolling with us anymore," Buffy said, hoping to win Willow over to her side in this.

"Maybe, but even if we all said he couldn't patrol anymore; he'd still come, maybe he would even go on his own and that would be even worse," Willow countered.

Knowing Willow was right, she decided to let the matter rest for now. She'd bring it up again but, for now, it wouldn't help matters.

*****

Tara watched Xander carefully, as he stood, making them some tea. She caught every glance he threw her way. Each one was full of lust, directed at her. This was new to her. No guy had ever been interested in her this way and even through this wasn't the Xander she knew, she couldn't help herself to be aroused and excited at the fact.

The hyena smiled as he sensed the growing excitement and arousal coming off Tara. He had caught her of balance with the lustful gazing toward her. The funny thing was its host had been attracted to Tara to begin with, but had seen no point in going after her once he found out she was a lesbian and was after Willow. Its smile grew, as it knew it could change this problem once it decided to take her as his mate. It just had to keep her off balance till then and keep the new feelings she was having going. It couldn't allow her to begin to really think about was going on, if it did, he would lose her and maybe get beaten again.

It felt its host pushing to regain control of his body. This time he was stronger and it guessed the second spirit was now helping him. Growling at the danger this presented to his plans it knew it didn't have too long before these two became real problems.

Xander doubled over suddenly, causing Tara to rush over to see if he was ok, as she touched him a charge seem to run through her body at being so close to him.

"Xander, are you OK?" she asked worried.

"C-can't say, Tara," Xander's voice seemed back to normal to her now, but it was full of strain as if he was fighting a battle. "G. get out now," he gasped. "Can't hold it," he spoke again before falling to his knees.

"Xander?" she asked again, now confused.

"I'm fine, maybe the spell had a few more side effects than we knew," he said. Suddenly back to his confident state.

The hyena growled as it regained control. Its host was not as weak as it had been, when it had first taken control of him. That, combined with the second spirit, was more of a match even for him, but it still had the upper hand. It would have to be quicker than it had expected to be able to complete its plans.

****

Xander groaned as he was forced back into his own mind, his warning had not been enough to get Tara to leave and alert the others to what was happening. He couldn't believe this was happening again, what was more confusing were Tara's actions. She knew something was wrong and yet she wasn't doing anything about it and he couldn't figure out why.

He and the soldier spirit would have to work harder in breaking this hyena's control of his body and quickly if they wanted to save his friends, especially Tara, from the creature's plans.  
4\. Chapter 4

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 4

****

Tara walked home in a daze from Xander's apartment. The feelings she had felt were still firmly in place and playing havoc with her imagination. She was beginning to fantasize about him, which she had never done with any other guy she had met. If Willow found about this, it could destroy everything she had here in Sunnydale. However, something still made her uneasy about what had happened to Xander. When he had doubled over in pain, he spoke almost as if he was trying to warn of her some kind if danger. Shaking her head, she decided to wait and find out more before she went to the others about her fears for Xander. Although that was the reason she gave herself, in the back of her mind, a more primitive reason burned in her soul.

****

The hyena in Xander couldn't help but laugh as Tara left his apartment. The arousal and excitement inside was growing tenfold and it knew it had her. A few more days and then it would claim her. As he walked toward his host's bedroom, he collapsed.

It awoke to find two versions of Xander staring at him with cold eyes and it suddenly realized they had forced the host body to shut down. Taking control from him and making it possible for them to talk to him with no way to block them. It snarled at them, as they approached. The second spirit was the bigger threat, it had knowledge and skills that equaled his own and the host spirit had endless reserves of strength which had increased since the last time he had taken control.

"You can't do this. Don't you realize the chaos you'll cause?" Xander hissed at him.

"Chaos is what I live for. Find food and then claim a mate, become Alpha again," the hyena spat back. That was his nature.

"If you do this, you'll destroy the group. Weaken it and that could lead to the end of the world, which means the end of all of us," Xander told him stepping forward.

"I'll survive. I always survive," the hyena hissed back. "I survived before when you thought you got rid of me and I'll survive again," it added as a kind of warning.

"Leave Tara alone," the second spirit finally stepped forward as the words left Xander'  
s mouth.

"If you harm that girl, I will rip your throat out," the soldier threatened him.

"I will claim her as my mate and you can't stop me," the hyena laughed, as it felt the host body begin to start up again. It would have to be fast if it wanted to reclaim complete control.

"You'll never get the chance," Xander said as he rushes at the hyena, trying to distract it while the soldier took control so it could warn the others.

The hyena however was ready for the assault and quickly side stepped the attack, knocking Xander away. It prepared to leap at the second spirit, it felt the host body fully awaken and quickly tried to assert control, but failed as Xander smashed into him from behind.

Xander slowly opened his eyes and winced, as he feels disorientated. The soldier quickly realizes it doesn't have much time before the hyena's strength returned and would retake control. He quickly jumped up and ran towards the watcher's house.

****

Giles looked up startled as Xander almost barged through his door. He looked almost afraid of something. Quickly getting up, he walked over to the youth, "Xander are you OK?" he asked.

"You have to listen and quickly I don't have much time," Xander replied looking almost in pain.

"What is it?" Giles asked.

"I'm not Xander, not completely," Xander told him.

"Excuse me?" Giles asked, perplexed.

"The spell that hit him the other night, it destroyed the barriers inside his head and freed the two spirits he's been possessed by," Xander spoke before he collapsed to the ground.

"What do you mean exactly?" Giles asked kneeling next to his friend.

"The hyena is loose. It took control of him again. It's stronger, much stronger and it's after the blond witch, Tara," Xander spoke fast, as if every word was a battle to get out.

"The hyena? Good lord!" Giles gasped, stunned. "Then who are you if you're not Xander?" Giles asked.

"The soldier spirit, that took control during the Halloween incident with Ethan Rayne. Xander and I managed to take back control so we could warn you." The soldier could feel the hyena coming back. He'd have to be quick. "It's coming. Listen, you have to find some way of knocking the host body out for a long period of time, and find a way to rebuild the barriers." He felt himself losing control. "Find some place to hide now! I can't stop him and he'll take you out to keep his plans secret. Go," he added before blacking out.

Giles quickly got up and ran out of his house, he couldn't believe this was happening, but he wasn't taking any chances. If indeed the spell had let loose the spirit of the hyena, then it was going to take a lot to beat it. He headed toward Willow and Buffy's dorm room to warn them.

****

The hyena growled as it woke, they had disrupted his plans and now it would have to work faster than ever to claim Tara as his and destroy the Slayer. The Watcher knew and even though he himself was faster as the Watcher, he would still reach them first. Standing, it walked out of the house and headed towards home, trying to think of a new plan.  
5\. Chapter 5

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 5

****

Giles rushed into the dorm room, startling both Buffy and Willow who were busy arguing again about Xander. Catching his breath, he tried to focus his thoughts on what had actually happened.

"Giles what's wrong?" Buffy asked. "And have you ever heard of knocking?"

"We have a very big problem concerning Xander," Giles answered sitting down at the desk.

"What's he done now?" Buffy asked annoyed, as Willow glared at her.

"The spell he was hit with the night before? It somehow unleashed the spirits he was possessed by," he answered.

"But we got rid of them, didn't we?" Willow asked, shocked.

"Apparently not," Giles replied. "The hyena is in control again and it would seem he has set his sight on Tara, I'm afraid," he added.

"Tara's in danger?" Willow said, even more shocked.

"Giles, how do you know all this?" Buffy asked, somewhat doubtful.

"Xander came by my place, however it wasn't actually him, it was the soldier he was possessed by during the Halloween incident. He was barely in control, but managed to tell me what was going on," Giles added. "We need to find a way to subdue Xander while we find a way to rebuild the barriers the spell shattered," he finished.

"Giles, what if Xander was just messing with you?" Buffy asked.

"He wasn't. Xander may be many things, but he is not prone to trick people and worry them," Giles said sternly. "Need I remind you of what happened to you the last time the hyena had control of Xander," Giles said harshly.

"No," Buffy answered, chastised. She remembered all to well what the hyena had planned for her.

"Giles, what about Tara?" Willow asked.

"According to the soldier spirit, the hyena has set his sights on her, instead of Buffy. In fact, he wants to kill Buffy this time around," he answered.

"Why Tara?" Buffy asked. "Not that there is anything wrong with her, but she's not powerfully strong like me," Buffy quickly added, as she saw the glare Willow was giving her.

"I believe Tara maybe more powerful than any of us think and that is why the hyena wants her as its mate," Giles suggested.

"Great," Buffy spat.

"Buffy, you and Willow go find Tara. I will begin researching ways to subdue the hyena. Be careful and meet back at my place," Giles told them before standing up and walking out of the room.

"See Willow, this is-," Buffy began before being cut off by Willow.

"Not now, Buffy; Xander and Tara need our help. Let's go," she said angrily.

****

The hyena headed towards Tara's dorm room, hoping to catch her before the slayer and the redhead came looking for her, as no doubt they would, once the watcher had told them what was going on. As much as it was too soon to take Tara, he had run out of options and needed to make her his now, while he had the time. Once he had her, then they would be invincible. The slayer and her friends would not be able to stop him. It started to laugh at the mere thought of it. It couldn't wait to claim what was his and get his revenge, not only on the redhead, but also on its host and the soldier spirit.  
6\. Chapter 6

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 6

Tara looked up as someone knocked on her door and she wondered who it was, suddenly she felt a shiver run down her spine, as she got close to the door and she believed she knew who she would find.

She was not surprised to find Xander on the other side and she could tell by the look in his eyes, that whatever he wanted, he was determined to get. She shivered as she again felt the combination of fear and excitement run through her as she looked at her friend.

"Tara, I need your help with something," the hyena told her. Needing to get her away from her house, before the Slayer and Willow turned up.

"Sure," Tara found herself reply and followed him out, after picking up her keys and locking the door.

As they disappeared behind the side of the college, Buffy and Willow appeared from the other side heading to the dorm room where Tara lived. Buffy was still trying to convince Willow about the danger of letting Xander remain part of the group.

"Buffy will you just drop it. I have heard enough," Willow finally lost her temper with her friend's insistence. "We have more important things to do right now than argue. Xander is possessed again and Tara is his main objective, so can you please concentrate on that," she snapped glaring at the blond.

Buffy almost stumbled at the anger in her friend's tone, as she could not remember a time when Willow had snapped at her before. She had to admit they did have more important things to do right now and she wasn't helping matters.

She remembered all to well what happened the last time Xander had been possessed by the hyena. She shivered as she remembered the strength it had, as well as what it had tried to do to her and this time Tara was the one the hyena wanted as its mate and whilst she was still unsure of the blond witch, she was determined to stop her from being hurt.

They entered the college dorm and headed for Tara's, hoping that the blond haired witch was home. After knocking on the door three times they realized she was not home.

"Do you know where she might go?" Buffy asked her friend.

"She might have gone to the Magic Box, other than that I am not sure," Willow replied. "Not really," she added.

"We'll split up and look around and if you see Xander, run," Buffy said a little annoyed, as this would slow them down.

*

Tara looked around Xander's apartment and noted that he locked the door behind them. She knew now that whatever she was sensing from Xander was dangerous, but she had the feeling she would not be hurt. Xander wanted something from her and she was confused as to what she would do when she found out what it was.

She decided to confront her friend as to what was wrong with him and see what happened. She forced down her fear and moved towards him, noting how he watched her.

"Xander, I think something is very wrong with you and I want to help you," she said, making sure she didn't stutter.

"I always knew there was more to you than you let on Tara," he replied with a smirk. "Let us say an old friend decided to pay me a visit, after I was hit by that spell of yours," he told her, his smile widening.

"What old friend, what did that spell do?" she asked moving closer.

"Did Willow ever tell you what happened to me during a visit to the local zoo during our first year of knowing Buffy?" he asked, wondering how much the witch did know of their past adventures.

Tara frowned at this question and she quickly went over everything Willow had told her about their past and her eyes widened, as she recalled something Willow mentioned, but would not explain.

"You're the hyena," she said, taking a step back. "Willow said that you once got possessed by one, but she would never tell me what actually happened," she added. "Didn't they know there could be some left over trait inside you?" she asked, forgetting this wasn't Xander.

"Obviously not or I wouldn't be here, would I?" he answered, letting out a laugh. "They thought I was gone, but you're spell released me," he told her. "I will have my revenge on the slayer and the others," he growled. "And you will help me as my mate," he added, stepping as close to her as possible.

Tara's mind reeled as she realized the implications of what the hyena was saying. It made sense of all of the looks Xander had been giving her. She tried to step away, but the hyena matched her.

"Did you know Xander is interested in you?" the hyena asked, knowing it had to keep the witch of balance.

Tara stopped trying to move away, as she was asked the question. She looked into the eyes of the possessed Xander and could tell it was being quite serious. She tried to push the thought away, but found it was now lodged in the front of her mind. It made sense as to why the hyena had shifted its attentions to her.

She found it hard to break her gaze away from Xander for a few minutes, before she finally looked away and walked over to the window, trying to arrange her whirling thoughts.

"Why did you ask that?" she finally spoke.

"Curiosity," was all the hyena would say, smirking at the look on the witches face. She was blushing and it made the hyena bolder with its plans.

+++

Buffy was feeling frustrated at the lack of any sign of Tara or Xander and she hoped they were not alone with each other. She noted Riley walking towards her with a smile and she decided to get his help in tracking down both of the missing Scoobies.

"Hey," Riley said, kissing Buffy in greeting.

"Riley, I need your help in finding Tara and Xander," she said in reply, wishing she could just go somewhere with her boyfriend.

"Why? What's going on?" Riley asked, wondering what was happening.

"It's nothing really, but I really need to find them," Buffy answered, remembering Giles telling her not to report this to any of the Initiative personnel, as he did not trust them.

"I'll see what I can do," Riley assured her, even as he frowned knowing she was hiding something from him and that annoyed him before he turned and left.

Buffy watched him go, knowing he suspected she was hiding things from him, but she refused to go against her watcher's orders, until they knew more of what the Initiative was up to. She sighed before she turned and headed towards the library

Willow was beginning to get frustrated in her search for Tara. She wanted to know why the hyena was after Tara, instead of Buffy, like the last time and wondered if what Giles had said was true, that maybe Tara was more powerful than she had let on.

She frowned, wondering why Tara would hide such a fact from her, considering how helpful it could be on patrol. She shook of her negative thoughts and headed into town wondering if Tara had gone shopping.

+++

Xander watched from inside his own mind, as the hyena talked to Tara, keeping her distracted by admitting his deeply hidden attraction to the witch. He cursed, as he watched him basically stalk Tara, who again confused him by her actions.

He had managed to warn her briefly of the danger she faced, but then the hyena has basically told her who he really was and yet she had not attacked or run and he was confused as to why she was not doing either of these things.

He looked to his side where the soldier spirit stood and noted it to looked quite confused, as to why the witch was not taking any action to defend herself. He could only hope Giles had warned Buffy and Willow by now and they were all looking for them and that they would get here in time before the hyena did anything.

+++

Outside the hyena smirked as he continued his seduction of the witch, whilst making sure to keep her from thinking things over too deeply. He could feel the two other spirits inside him trying to fight him for control again, but he easily ignored them now that his own control was growing. The boy was weakening and the soldier spirit could do nothing without his help. He moved once again into Tara's personal space and began to dance with her. Tara seemed surprised by this move, but again refused to act and allowed herself to be danced around the living room. Her feelings where all over the place and she didn't know what to do.

"You really are quite beautiful Tara," the hyena told her, causing her to blush once again and losing herself in the seductive air of the situation and forgetting exactly what was going on.

"Join me and nothing will ever hurt you again," he added. "I know you have a similar background to my host, an abusive childhood and friends who basically ignore and take you for granted," he informed her, using his host memories and thoughts to their fullest.

Tara looked at the hyena again, as he told her this and realized Xander must have determined something from her background, something she had tried very hard to hide from the group since Willow had brought her into it. She had, after meeting Xander, thought he may have grown up just like her, considering how he acted. Her shyness was a result of her childhood and it was clear to her that Xander's self depicting humor was a result of the same thing.

"Buffy doesn't care for us Tara. We are nothing but tools to her," the hyena persisted. "Xander knows this, he has thought this many times before, he just has nothing else to hold onto," he added. "But together we can form something greater," he whispered, as he leaned forward and kissed her gently, surprising Tara as she had never been kissed by a boy before.

+++

Inside Xander slumped to the ground, as he realized the hyena was speaking the truth. He had indeed thought those things many times, especially during the whole saga with Faith.

He noticed the soldier had also joined him on the imagined ground, the look in his eyes told him that the soldier had also thought of these things. Buffy had become a very selfish person since the whole deal with Angelus went down, her attitude towards him and Giles had at times been very abusive and dismissive and then she quickly changed her tune when she needed their help.

He looked to where he could see the hyena continue to seduce his friend. It would seem Tara was falling under the spell of the hyena and suddenly he could barely find the will to fight to regain control.

+++

Tara moved her hands to the side of the hyena before unleashing her magic. She was determined to bring Xander back to the front of his mind, whilst merging the other spirits within him. She wanted the truth and not just what the hyena was telling her. The hyena did not bother to fight, because it knew the boy and the soldier had realized he had been right in what he had said and he knew even in a merged state he would continue to exist and influence his host.

Tara's eyes suddenly glowed green as a bond began to form between her and Xander. It was not something she had been expecting, but she did not try to stop it, because she was determined to help Xander. She noticed Xander's own eyes had become green as well and she pushed her magic to continue to merge the three spirits within Xander together, not realizing she was merging her own mind with Xander's also. Finally both of them collapsed, as the magic Tara had begun, continued to work within them both.

Willow, Buffy and Riley all met up back at the watcher's house, all of them having come up empty in their search for either Xander or Tara. Buffy began to pace in agitation, whilst Willow sat next to Giles and Riley just leaned against the door.

"Did any of you check Xander's apartment?" Giles asked, as he continued to read one of his books.

"No," all three responded, as they realized they had missed an obvious spot to check. "I went to Xander's parent's house. I forgot he moved out to an apartment," Buffy said with a sigh.

"Should we check it out, Giles?" Willow asked, having forgotten in her haste to find Tara to think of checking Xander's apartment.

"Not just yet. Tara may have gone to visit some friends, we do not know," Giles added. "And Xander, I doubt would be somewhere so obvious," he added.

"Giles, what exactly is going on?" Riley finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Why are you all in such a worry about them?" he pressed.

"That is not your concern Mr. Finn," Giles responded, before Buffy could say anything. "Considering some of your group's practices you can understand I am reluctant to trust you fully just yet," he added, turning to face the Initiative soldier.

Riley sighed, as the watcher replied, knowing he would not get an answer out of any of them right now. He wondered if he should report this event to Walsh, before deciding to hold off for now, until he had more Intel.

He did not want to ruin his relationship with Buffy over something that might turn out to be nothing and so he kept his silence and just watched.

+++

Xander groaned as he woke up and noticed that he was once again in control of his body, yet he felt very different. He could hear two voices inside his head and he realized one was the soldier and one was the hyena.

He knew from the hyena's memories that Tara had merged him with the other two spirits, which would explain why he felt so different, but he had thought it would remove the presence of the other spirits completely. He could feel the hyena laugh at him as this thought ran through his head. He shook his head, as he heard Tara begin to come around.

"Are you okay Tara?" he asked, as he laid his hand on her shoulder.

"I think so," Tara answered absently, before everything came back to her and she looked to where Xander sat. "Is that really you Xander?" she asked.

"I think so," he replied. "I can still hear the hyena and the soldier," he admitted.

"I know, I can hear them as well," Tara informed him. "When I merged them and you I somehow forged a link between us," she explained. "It's strong, so I think it might be permanent," she added.

Xander took all of this on board, before he realized this meant she might be able to access anything she wanted, including how he felt about her. He quickly stood up, helping Tara to her feet, as he did so.

"Xander, did the hyena tell me the truth about your feelings and the other things it said?" Tara asked, after gaining a little courage, from the voice of the hyena she could hear.

Xander almost refused to meet her eyes, but found himself looking her dead in the eyes, before he nodded, at the insistence of both the hyena and the soldier. He could no longer hide how he felt about Tara or how he truly felt towards Buffy and the other for the way they had treated him.

He was beginning to feel an overwhelming rage begin to build within him and he knew the hyena was stroking it, but he could tell the soldier was no longer trying to hold it back and neither was he.

"I more than like you," Xander said. "What the hyena told you about my childhood was right. Only my friend Jessie knew, but he's dead and the others have never bothered to find out why I am like this," he explained. "They have always taken me at face value and refused to look deeper. Willow because she can't imagine me any other way, Buffy because she has the perfect parent in Joyce and of course, her own selfishness," he explained. "Giles is only concerned about Buffy as his Slayer and of course Willow, due to her intellect," he added with a shake of his head, as the rage within him grew.

Tara listened, as Xander talked and admitted things he had kept inside of him for far to long. She could feel the rage over the link she had forged and wondered what he would do.

Knowing this made her examine her own feelings and she found she had hidden things from the group, because she really did not trust them yet. Her experiences in the past had made her trust very few people.

She trusted Xander, because she knew he would never harm her, which had been confirmed when she checked the link and found how strong it now was. She wondered why it had formed and the only thing she could think of was when she had been merging the spirits within him, a deep hidden urge to link them together had surfaced and guided the magic to do just that.

She looked up as Xander stepped closer to her and stared into her eyes and she could see a very deep longing in them and a question. She began to feel yet again their fear and excitement which had confused her when the hyena had come onto her. This time there was no confusion. She reached up and pulled Xander down to her and kissed him as hard as she could.

Xander groaned at the contact, he pushed her against the nearby wall and he could hear the hyena give an exultant cry in his head, before he concentrated on Tara as he guided her towards his bedroom.

Tara no longer cared about being found, she was fully consumed with a new desire and that was centered on allowing herself to be claimed by Xander.

Giles looked up from the book he had been reading and noted an hour and a half had passed since anyone had said anything. He was feeling finally that he had found something that could help them remove the hyena from Xander. He noted Buffy was curled up against Riley watching his T.V, whilst Willow was going through one of his other books.

"I think I found it," he stated. "This spell here should work," he explained as the others looked to him and whilst Willow and Buffy smiled, he noted Riley was frowning obviously wondering why they needed a spell.

"Isn't that going to be dangerous?" Willow asked. "Couldn't it hurt Xander if it goes wrong?" she pressed.

"Sadly yes, but I am at a loss as to what else we can do, and we do not have a lot of time to find something else to use," Giles countered.

Riley was really beginning to get fed up on being left out of the loop. At least he knew now something must have happened to either Xander or Tara, or maybe both and it required a spell to fix it.

"We should head to Xander's and see if they are there," Giles said, as he stood up. He grabbed the book he needed, whilst throwing the tranquilizer gun they used to use on Oz to Buffy. "If he attacks shoot him. There's a dart already in it," he told his Slayer to which Buffy nodded.

Riley was now really curious as to what was going on, but he knew now, from what Giles had said, that it was Xander. Something had happened to him and they were going to tranq him, if he gave any resistance. He knew Walsh would be very interested in all of this, once he finally found out what had happened and he would in the end. Buffy could be easily motivated to tell him the truth.

+++

Tara smiled, as she finished her shower after making love to Xander. He stepped out first and they slowly dressed, both enjoying taking the time to look the other over. She knew now she could make a relationship with Xander work and was determined to try.

It was like she had a whole new outlook on life and she wanted to explore it, just as they both finished dressing they heard a knocking at the door.

"That will be the gang. Let's see what they do," Xander guessed, before heading to the door and unlocking it, before letting them in. "Hi guys," he greeted the group, noting the tranq gun Buffy held.

"Xander?" Willow asked confused at his actions.

"It's me Willow. Tara used a spell to rebuild the blocks on my mind and shutting the hyena away again," he explained smiling, as Tara nodded her head in agreement.

"Why does it look like you both have just taken a shower?" Buffy inquired suspiciously, causing Willow to frown as she too noted both Xander and Tara had wet hair.

"We both have just had showers to get rid of the smell of the spell she just did Buffy," Xander replied easily, with a little help from the hyena at controlling his responses.

"Xander not to be distrustful, but I would like to run a few spells myself to make sure we do not have to face this danger in the future. I have found a spell which will remove it completely from your mind," Giles told him.

"You can't do that Mr. Giles. Doing that kind of spell now will cause brain damage to Xander, as it will conflict with my own spell," Tara argued and she hoped they listened as that was actually true.

"Tara you have no idea how much trouble the hyena could be," Willow countered. "We need to be sure it's gone," she added.

"Are you willing to risk Xander's health, because you are not willing to trust me?" Tara shot back, finally seeing what Xander and the hyena had told her.

The group did not trust her or him. They only were using them for their aid in patrolling when it suited them. It was clear to her now that Buffy and Willow would only feel better if Giles did his spell, but she was not about to allow that happen and she would fight them if need be.

She also noted the very interested look on Riley Finn's face as this argument continued. She frowned, as she knew if he reported any of this to his superior they may try to capture Xander, to experiment on him the effects of been possessed.

"Mr. Giles, I assure you my spell will hold and if you attempt to do any other spell you will cause severe damage to Xander," she said, turning to face the watcher.

"Very well Tara," Giles relented. "I am not willing to attempt a spell which could cause such damage," he added at the looks Buffy and Willow shot him, missing the look of Riley as he thought over all of this. "If Tara is sure her spell will hold then I suggest we trust her. I doubt she would lie to us," he added, before he turned and left the room, followed by Buffy and Riley.

Willow remained for a few seconds, before she left as well. At least happy that the hyena problem had been dealt with, however something was bothering her, but at the moment she didn't know what it was.

She noted Riley kiss Buffy before heading off somewhere. She frowned as she realized Riley now knew why they had been so worried and she hoped he and his Initiative friends wouldn't do anything stupid.

+++

Back in the apartment Xander and Tara smirked at one another, as they put one over on Buffy and the gang. They quickly ended up kissing each other once again, before sitting down to discuss things.

"I'm a little worried about Finn knowing about the hyena possession," Tara told him.

"Me too, but if he tries anything go to LA and see Angel. I think he might help and if he doesn't you could always visit Faith and see if you can come up with a plan between you two," Xander replied. Realizing, thanks to the soldier, the Initiative might indeed try something.

"I don't want you attempting anything alone Tara," he told her with concern, causing Tara to smile in return. "Thanks to you, I remember all of my skills from the soldier and I also have enhanced senses and strength, although not as much as when I was first taken over," he informed her. "They'll have some trouble taking me down now," he said confidently.

Tara smiled at this before cuddling up against him and wondering what the future would bring.

+++

Riley walked straight into Lowell house and took the lift down to the base hidden underneath it. He headed straight for Walsh's office to report on what he had found out. He suspected she would be intrigued by the idea of possession and the effects of it on a human being and seen as it was Harris who had been possessed he felt no concern at reporting this.  
7\. Chapter 7

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 7

Maggie Walsh sat behind her desk, as she thought over what Agent Finn had reported to her about the latest episode of the so called Scooby gang. It was an interesting diversion and one that may have unseen benefits to her program.

It may open up new avenues to her research with project 'Adam' and creating the ultimate soldier. She leaned back as she began to think about how to get a hold of Harris, without alerting the slayer and the rest of his friends. She smiled as she put a plan together and she was sure Riley would wish to take part in it, considering how he disliked the young man in question.

+++

Riley himself was busy with training along aside his men, including his friends Forest and Graham. He did wonder what Walsh would make of his information concerning Harris and his possession. He hoped it would be something creative.

He soon noticed one of Walsh's aids coming towards him and he stopped what he was doing, as he read over the note the aid passed him. He smirked as he read over Walsh's plan and he quickly told his men to get some rest, as tonight they had a job to do.

Harris would never know what was coming and considering his lack of skills he would be an easy take down, so he would take only a small team including Forest. He turned and headed out to talk to Walsh to finalize the job.

+++

Willow sat in the Magic Box alongside Buffy and Giles, as they talked over what had just happened. Buffy was once again trying to convince them of removing Xander from the group's patrols. She sighed as she was really becoming sick of the argument and so she decided to just give in, if it meant she would have some peace.

"Okay Buffy, you've made your point," Willow said, raising her voice so she could gain the blonds attention, as well as Giles. "We'll tell Xander he's off patrols when he turns up later, okay?" she added, ignoring the look Giles gave her because she knew Xander would not take this lying down.

"Good," Buffy said. "It's about time you guys saw sense," she added.

"More like stupidity," Xander said from behind them, having entered the shop with Tara, without alerting the others to their presence.

Willow groaned, as she realized he must have heard everything that had been said, since he walked in. She wondered how he had entered the shop without them hearing it. She shook her head and focused on the problem at hand, which she knew would end up in another argument.

"Xander, it's for you own good," Buffy said, without missing a beat. Believing this was the right thing to do. "You are just getting hurt out there and what's just happened proves it," she continued.

"It's true, I've taken some knocks, but so has everyone else who has been a part of this group," Xander countered.

"Willow is not much use without her magic, nor is Tara. Oz and Cordy have no special abilities and yet you never complained about them did you?" he continued with an angry look.

"Giles' combat skills whilst good are not completely up to par either and yet you allow him to help. So why single me out for all this Buffy?" he asked.

Tara watched the other three exchange looks between themselves, as Xander argued his own points. She was not offended when Xander said she was no good without her magic, because it was true. She had no skills in combat, bar using her magic, although that would change as Xander had promised to teach her some defense, which he now remembered thanks to the merger of the spirits inside him.

She was as annoyed, as Xander was with what she had heard, after entering the shop. She knew from Willow's stories that Xander had done a hell of a lot to help Buffy and her friends to defend the Hellmouth and yet she could see no appreciation of gratitude for his efforts. She found that offensive and cruel. She felt her own anger and mistrust of Buffy and the others grow, even as she could feel Xander trying to hold his own anger under control, even as the hyena pushed him to lash out.

The link she had forged during forcing the merging had grown stronger over the last three hours and she could feel a lot more from Xander and the two voices of the hyena and the soldier. She felt a lot safer since the link was forged and she shuddered whenever she thought of how things were before Xander was repossessed by the hyena. She had hope now that the future for both of them would be much brighter.

"That's not the point Xander. You have picked up more injuries than any of the others have. During patrol you take way to many risks and enough is enough," Buffy shouted, annoyed that Xander would not bow to her suggestion.

Tara became a little alarmed at the sudden cold fury, which was running through Xander as her listened to Buffy's reply. She could tell those injuries had nothing to do with helping during patrols from the thoughts running through Xander's mind. She placed what she hoped was a calming hand on his arm and tried to get him to relax a little

"That shows your utter lack of caring Buffy," Xander growled. "If you knew as much about me as you think you do, you'd know exactly where the majority of those injuries came from and it damn well wasn't from helping you," he continued and the others could see the anger blazing in his eyes. "From everything you've said since last night I don't think it was worth it," he added, before he turned around and stormed out of the shop.

Tara remained knowing she could use the link to track Xander down in a few minutes. She looked at each of the three others before frowning at them and allowing some of her own anger to show

"You should be ashamed of yourselves, after everything he has done to help you at the risk of his own life and soul for you to do this, is unforgivable Buffy and especially you Willow for agreeing to it," she told them, before she left as well.

Willow frowned at Tara's statement, but quickly shoved it aside as she ran Xander's words through her head again and again. She tried to work out what they meant. Where did his injuries come from, if not from the patrols? She frowned when she came up with no immediate answer before looking at Giles and Buffy, who also seemed pensive after the confrontation.

+++

Xander stormed away from the Magic Box, as he tried to control his raging emotions after hearing his supposed friends agreeing to cut him out of the gang. He could feel the hyena baying for revenge, whilst the soldier wanted to teach them a lesson.

Whilst the merger had stopped any chance of him losing control to either spirit again, it did not stop them from trying to influence his actions and right now what either was saying sounded good to him, but he knew he couldn't follow that path. He came to a stop in the nearby park and sat down against a tree and began trying to meditate. He felt Tara finally sit next to him and lay her head on his shoulder.

After half an hour he finally began to slow the anger that was swirling around inside him. He breathed deeply before he opened his eyes again and looked around, noting the park was quite full this afternoon.

"Do you feel better?" Tara's quite voice asked from beside him.

He turned and faced her, noting the concern that was still etched on her face and he gave her a small smile, before HE leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Then he pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers and then he replied, "I do now, I told you none of them ever really saw the real me. They just assume things and yet I bet if it was one of them or say Oz, they would have looked deeper for the answer," he finished.

"I know, I could see it in their eyes," Tara replied hating this fact, but she could do nothing to ignore it. "I think that might change now with what you said. Willow was very confused when we left," she told him, hoping to cheer him up a little.

"I doubt it," was his reply. "She was most likely more confused as to why we are spending so much time together," he informed her. "Sometimes I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale, but I know that's a very stupid thing to wish for, considering what happens at night," he sighed.

Tara could feel his sadness and frustration, which was running through him as he said this and she knew there was little she could do right now to change it. She pulled him down and kissed him again, pushing all of her new feelings for him over the link. She wanted him to know that at least she felt love for him.

She felt him smile against her lips and was then assaulted by his own feelings for her, including a wanton desire to make love to her again. She blushed at some of the images he sent her. She stood up and pulled him with her and began to lead him back to his apartment, very much in the mood to experience those feelings again.

+++

Willow had began to pace as two questions warred within her. One was where had the injuries Xander acquired come from, if not from helping Buffy during patrols and the second was why was he and Tara together so much and why was her friend so defensive of the male Scooby?

She kept coming to an answer which she always forced away. She knew Tara was not into boys at least not that she could see. For some reason she didn't want to admit it was possible Xander had gotten to her friend somehow, even ignoring the fact it would explain why the hyena had been after her when it possessed Xander.

+++

Beside her Buffy was frowning as she thought over the confrontation. She was angered that Xander would not see she was only doing this for his own safety. She wanted to shout and rage at him, but she knew it would do no good. Xander would ignore her and then just keep shouting back facts to support his own view. She wondered what Xander had meant when he stated the injuries she had mentioned had not come from patrols. She didn't have a clue where else they could have come from, as her world view did not allow her to believe a parent could beat their own child.

+++

Giles was standing at the counter drinking some tea, as he went over what had happened since last night. He was worried how this would affect the group. There had been many arguments over the years, but for some reason this one struck him as different. Xander had really been angry, more so than he had ever heard from the young man before.

He shivered as he realized that the way Xander had been acting reminded him of his own younger days as the Ripper. He was also worried by the fact that Tara was standing alongside Xander, splitting the group down the middle.

Granted some of it was their own fault for agreeing to Buffy's demands just so that they could have some peace and quiet. He wondered where this would lead them and he hoped that they could repair the damage by finding some compromise, which was agreeable by both parties.

+++

Xander way laying on his bed and Tara was draped over him with her head place just under his chin. He was gently brushing his fingers through her hair as she relaxed after their lovemaking. He felt a lot more relaxed now and he could tell Tara too was more at ease. He smiled as he recalled the last two hours as he looked down at Tara, who had her eyes closed and a gently smile on her face.

She looked so peaceful that he did not want to move, but he really needed to. She opened her eyes and faced him, as the thought passed through his mind before moving off him.

"Sorry," he said, as he headed for the bathroom.

"It's okay," Tara replied, as she followed him and entered the shower, joined a few seconds later by Xander.

They showered in silence before they got out and dressed slowly again. They took their time to watch each other, both still feeling the newness of their relationship.

"I'm just going to go and get some food, I'll be back soon," Xander told her, giving her a quick kiss before he grabbed his wallet and headed out.

Tara smiled, as she watched him leave, before she sat on the couch and turned the TV on. She began to think on how things had changed in the last two days and smiled as she felt happier than she had felt in a very long time.

She had never believed that she would ever have a relationship with a boy. This had convinced her that she was a lesbian, but now she knew that was not true, if anything she would say she was bisexual. This new fact did not really change much, except widened her views on certain things, at the moment though most of her focus was on Xander and her new relationship with him.

She was happy with the way her life was going thanks to what had happened recently. She just wished that Buffy and the others were not so deceitful. The anger Buffy's views had invoked in Xander had scared her a little, but with a little help from her he had managed to calm himself, but still to know there was so much anger inside him was a little scary and she hoped she would not see him lose his temper again for a long time.

+++

Xander walked towards the local supermarket whistling a small tune, as he continued to think about Tara. He could barely believe they were now in a relationship, but he was not going to complain, as he had dreamed about it many times since meeting the beautiful blond witch.

He felt very lucky to have been allowed the one to take her virginity and he had made sure he was as careful as possible when they had made love this morning. Their second try had been much more equal and at a faster pace. Tara was becoming more comfortable with him and he was pleased at that and he hoped nothing caused her to change her mind.

For once he could say he was pleased that he had been possessed by the hyena. It had somehow helped him achieve a dream he had believed just that, a dream. He wouldn't changes things now, even if he could. His life was going great except for the way his friends had been treating him.

+++

Riley watched as his small team lined up with a smirk, anticipating an easy capture considering the target was Xander Harris. He noticed Graham was standing off to the side and was not looking to happy with the new mission Walsh had given some of the team. He didn't care if Graham agreed with it or not, it was for the betterment of mankind as far as he was concerned.

"Alright now listen up, our target tonight is a human who has been under possession," Riley informed his men. "Professor Walsh believes he could pose a danger to people if there is any chance of it happening again. We are to bring him in so she can study him and determine a way to make sure it does not happen again," he added. "There is also a possibility studying this human will give us some new leads with project 'Adam'," he smirked as his small group grinned.

Whilst none of them knew the full details of project 'Adam' they all believed Walsh, when she told them it would help make America stronger in the long run and eventually help the rest of the world in time.

"Who is the target sir?" Jake Mills asked him.

"Xander Harris," he answered. "Yes, I know he is one of the slayer's group and so far we have left them be, but this is different. The possessing spirit is dangerous, from everything I could learn by the watcher and that justifies us taking him in," Riley told them, noting Graham was frowning even more now and he wondered what the hell was wrong with his friend, as he had never disagreed with an order before.

"Let's move," Riley ordered, as he turned and began to lead the five man team out of the base through the back entrance.

Graham watched as the group filed out, still frowning at what Walsh had ordered them to do. He believed in the mission, but he did not agree with going after a human being, no matter what had happened to him. He knew from the background files on the Slayer's group that Harris had fought vampires and demons for four to five years and that should have earned him some leeway. This could only end badly he concluded, if the slayer found out about this or worse one of the oversight committee, who had specified their targets were the demonic population of Sunnydale.

Walsh was violating the orders she had been given, when this whole mission had been approved and whilst Riley and the others seemed okay with going along with this, he was not and he did not know what to do about it. He sighed, before heading back to his room to think. He knew he had to be careful how he responded to this or he may end up in more trouble than he could handle.

+++

Xander was just turning back onto the street where he lived, when he was quickly surrounded by Riley and four of his men. He frowned at the look on the others face, before sighing as he realized the soldier had been correct that the Initiative may try to capture him, to experiment on a human who had undergone possession.

"Put your hands on the back of your head Xander. You're coming with us," Riley ordered him.

Xander shook his head at this. He felt the hyena and the soldier come to the fore of his mind, as did the anger he had been feeling after his confrontation with Buffy and the others. He had once thought he could never hate someone more than he had Angel, but as he looked at the smug look on Riley's face, it showed him he had been very wrong.

He placed the bag he had been carrying down on the ground, before allowing the two other spirits to guide him. He shot forward and rammed his palm into Riley's surprised face. He felt a pleasing sound of Riley's nose breaking. As Riley dropped to the ground, he turned quickly and slammed into Forest who he had met during patrol one night. He kneed the soldier in the gut, whilst he was still trying to get over his shock at being attacked. Forest doubled over and he followed up by bringing his elbow down on the back of his head knocking him out cold.

He managed to grab the blaster the Initiative soldiers used to stun the demons and vampires they encountered and dropped to his knees. He rolled backwards, so that he was facing the other three soldiers who had gotten over the surprise of his attack.

One of them fired his blaster at where he had been standing, not realizing he had been moving. He fired his own blaster and hit the soldier in the chest, sending him jerking to the ground, as the electrical current ran through his body.

He rolled again, as the other two tried to aim at him. He fired two bursts from his blaster, before rolling again. One of the shots hit one of the soldiers on the side, but it was enough to take him out of the fight. His second shot had missed and splashed into a tree. He cursed before dropping the blaster and charging the soldier, as he turned towards him. Xander smashed into the man, which sent him flying into the tree, causing his head to bang against it.

He quickly took advantage of this and grabbed the man's blaster from him and shot him, just as he lowered the weapon he heard a shot ring out, before he was slammed forward as a bullet impacted into his shoulder. He cried out in pain before managing to turn around to find Riley facing him, with blood running down his face from his broken nose. He raised his weapon as he moved out of the man's line of fire, before stopping as Riley was suddenly flung into a tree to the side of him, cracking his head on it, rendering him unconscious.

He turned to see Tara standing where Riley had been with her arm raised and a very angry expression on her face. He dropped the blaster and allowed himself to drop to his knees in pain. Tara quickly ran over to his side and helped him back up, grabbing the bag he had dropped she guided him back to his apartment, very worried about what had accrued.

+++

A few minutes later Forest came around and noted that all of his men were down and that Riley was injured. He called for a van to come to pick them up, he shook his head to clear the pain he was still feeling and still felt shocked at the way Harris had attacked them. Obviously Riley's Intel on Harris had been very wrong and he knew Walsh would not be very pleased with this failure.

He sighed, as he saw the jeep pull up near them and two men jumped out. He watched, as they hauled all of the team into the van, before joining them after picking up the discarded weapons, including Riley's pistol. He hoped that he was on the team sent to get Harris next time, as he wanted a chance at getting even for being shown up by a civilian.

Xander cried out as Tara used a pair of hand clippers to pull the bullet out of his shoulder. He heard the dull thud, as the bullet was dropped into a nearby tray. He could feel Tara's worry over the bond, as well as the anger both the hyena and the soldier were feeling at what had happened.

He tried to remain still, as Tara began cleaning his wound, before she tried to sow it close. He was glad he had a fully stocked first aid kit at hand, as he would dread to have to go the hospital where the cops would be called in and he would have to explain why he had a bullet in him.

"This is going to hurt Xander," he heard Tara tell him, as she got ready to close the wound with the needle and thread from the first aid kit.

"I know, just get it over with please," he whispered in reply.

Tara nodded and quickly began the work. She was pleased Xander only moved once and that was when she inserted the needle, whilst she worked. She felt Xander begin to drift off and she allowed him to. He was drained and still in pain, finally she finished her job and began to put the supplies away before she took the tray with the bullet on it and placed it somewhere she could hide it, in case they needed to prove any of this actually happened.

She grabbed a blanket and placed it over Xander's sleeping form, before she curled up in the nearby sofa and just watched him. She tried to come up with ways to stop the Initiative from coming after them again. She had already placed a strong protective shield around the apartment, so they could not get inside, but she knew that would not keep them from trying when they were outside.

+++

Forest winced as Walsh berated him and the rest of his team for failing to capture Harris. Riley was still in the infirmary with a concussion, as well as a broken nose, so for now he was been spared this. He hated failing things and he just hoped Walsh would give him another chance at Harris, finally their boss dismissed them and they quickly left her office.

"What happened?" he stopped and turned to find Graham walking behind him.

"Riley's Intel on Harris was flat out wrong Graham. Harris is not some weakling we could easily take down," he explained to his friend. "He took the whole team out and he was faster than any normal human should be, bar the slayer," he added with a thoughtful frown. "He also showed knowledge of military training, something else is going on with this guy, but next time he is going down," he spat, before he turned and left.

Graham watched him go and fought the urge to laugh at the whole thing. He was pleased to see that Xander was up to the challenge of defending himself, he had found others within the Initiative who were uneasy with the sudden turn Walsh had taken in her goals and he was hoping this whole thing could be stopped, before it got out of hand.

+++

Walsh sat down still angry at the idea of her men being taken out by Harris, who according to Riley was harmless. Obviously this was not the case and she would have to plan more carefully next time. She had thought the drugs she was secretly giving her soldiers would give them an advantage over any threat, but Harris had escaped. She guessed surprise had a lot to do with that, considering how much Riley had underestimated the young man. She turned in her chair and began to plan a new way of apprehending Harris, whilst deciding to check on Riley later.  
8\. Chapter 8

Fire of the Spirit Chapter 8

(Xander's apartment)

Xander woke and winced at the flare of pain from his shoulder where he had been shot the night before by Finn. He felt as Tara laid a gentle hand on his arm and he turned to face her, noticing the worried expression she had on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Buffy phoned this morning and demanded that we explain why you attacked Finn. It’s obvious Finn is trying to put all this on and make us into the bad guys," Tara explained, again seeing the limited trust Buffy had in her and Xander. "By the way, you've been asleep all night and all morning," she added.

"Not a surprise," Xander sighed in reply. "You'd think after knowing me for four years she would trust me more than Finn, but no because she's sleeping with him she trusts him more," he added. "Man I wish deadboy had never left, at least I knew what to expect from him," he groaned as he sat up helped by Tara.

"I told her our side and she basically called me a liar. They are coming over in an hour," Tara told him. "I told her she better not bring Finn or any other member of the Initiative when they do, we will show them the wound and the bullet Finn shot you with," she continued.

Xander nodded his head at this, knowing they didn't really have a choice if they wanted to at least try and convince Buffy and the others of what really happened.

Somehow he did not really believe Buffy would actually believe anything they said or the evidence they actually had in their possession, especially when combined with the split between them, since this whole thing started. He stood up and headed for the bathroom to have a shower, followed by Tara who wanted to make sure he did not aggravate his injury or get dizzy and fall whilst in there.

+++

(Buffy's House)

Buffy really wished she could just storm over to Xander's and demand to know what the hell he thought he was doing attacking her boyfriend. Willow, Giles and her own mother who sat on the couch and watched her pace were a bit more skeptical of what Riley had reported, when he had phoned half an hour before.

"Buffy would you please sit down and stop pacing," Joyce told her daughter, finally fed up with the constant moving around. "You are not going to speed things up by doing that. You said you'd go over in an hour and that's what you will do," she added sternly.

"But mom, they attacked Riley," Buffy protested with a growl, but sat down anyway.

"I do not believe Xander would attack anyone, without very good reasons," Joyce responded with a frown. "In all the time we've known him, he has never struck out at anyone without good provocation and you should have more faith in him, after all the help he has given you over the years," she told her. "The same could be said for Tara, granted we have not known her as long as Xander, but from what I have seen she does not strike me as someone who would attack someone for no reason," she finished.

"I have to agree Buffy. Xander and Tara would not attack Riley, if they did not have a good reason or if they were provoked," Giles agreed, as he removed his glasses and polished them, before he put them back on.

"Are you trying to say Riley is lying to me?" Buffy demanded to know."He wouldn't do that," she stated, annoyed with her mother and her watcher for implying such a thing.

Giles sighed at Buffy's limited view of things. It would seem she had forgotten that everyone ones lies. Nearly every member of the so called Scooby gang, as Xander had nick named their group, past and present had lied to each other over the years. He even remembered Buffy had lied to Joyce many times over the years. Yet sadly when it came to boyfriends Buffy had never been very objective and always saw the best in them and believed what they told her.

He believed this whole event would just aggravate the current discontent within the group, which had been escalated yesterday when Xander had overheard him and Willow agree to remove him from patrols. He shook his head not wanting to see the group destroyed by internal arguing.

"Buffy what reason would Xander have to attack Riley anyway?" Willow asked, having stayed quite so far. "And more so why would Tara attack him either?" she asked again.

"Xander would still be under the control of the hyena Willow. Maybe Tara's spell backfired and caused them both to fall under its sway," Buffy answered, determined to make them take her side in this.

"I somehow doubt that Buffy, but if it is the case we will deal with it and not Riley or the Initiative. This is an internal matter," Giles told her with a frown. Not really believing what Buffy said was a plausible explanation.

Buffy just shook her head, annoyed that none of them were willing to trust Riley's word on what had happened. She would make Xander pay for hurting her boyfriend she thought.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Riley smirked as he reported what he had done to Walsh, hoping to halt any rebuke for failing to apprehend Harris last night. He hoped to cause a further split within the group and separate Harris even more from his friends. He knew someone must have helped him escape last night, but none of his soldiers had been awake to see who had flung him into the tree that knocked him out.

He hoped that when a second attempt was made to capture Harris, he would be a part of the team. Like Forester he wanted a shot at revenge for being shown up by someone like Harris.

"Do you really think you can cause Summers to break her friendship with Harris?" Walsh asked after thinking over what Riley had told her.

"Yes sir," Riley replied. "Buffy and Harris have been arguing for most of the time I've been a part of the group and this latest situation of him getting repossessed by this hyena spirit has just caused a larger split," he told her. "Whilst Giles and Willow may not be so easy to manipulate, I can guarantee how Buffy will react when she confronts Harris and how he will react in return," he added with a smirk.

"And what about the unknown factor that rendered you unconscious and saved Harris last night?" Walsh inquired.

"It is possible that was Tara using her magic, but I somehow doubt it Mam," Riley answered. "However I now know not to underestimate Harris and I would be taking a larger team with me this time, if you will allow me to try again," he explained and hoped Walsh would allow him to do this.

Maggie Walsh sat back in her seat and thought over what Riley had told her before coming to the conclusion it would work and as long as Buffy and Harris were on the outs she would not believe anyone if they told her the Initiative had kidnapped him.

"Very well Riley. I will give you one more chance to capture him tonight," Walsh told him, as she stood up. "If you fail this time, I will give it to someone else is that understood?" she asked.

"Yes Mam," Riley responded, while standing to attention. "Thank you," he added.

"Pick your team and prepare for the mission," she ordered, to which Riley saluted her and left her office, leaving her to go over her latest notes on project 'Adam'.

+++

(Xander's Apartment)

Xander sighed as someone all but knocked his door down, he knew Buffy would come here in a foul mood and with little objectivity on the matter. He wished he could just not bother to answer, but he doubted that would help things at the moment. He walked over and opened the door allowing Buffy to all but storm into the apartment, whilst Giles and Willow simply walked in, both looked a little frustrated with the blonds actions.

"What the hell did you think you were doing in attacking my boyfriend, Xander?" Buffy shouted as soon as he closed the door.

"I did not attack anyone you airhead. I was coming back from getting some food for me and Tara to eat, when he and four of his men tried to arrest me," Xander shot back, his own anger quickly coming to the fore and was pushed onwards by the hyena. "They had no right to take me anywhere, so I resisted and a fight started. I took out the team and whilst my back was turned Finn shot me with his berretta," he continued. "I had a bullet in me Buffy, put there by your git of a boyfriend," he explained. "Had Tara not noticed what was going on, I dread to think where I might have ended up," he finished.

Buffy was a little taken aback by Xander's come back and she also noticed the glare Tara shot her, but she did not believe a word of what Xander had said. She would be dammed if she would allow Xander to get away with trying to put the blame for this on Riley.

"You actually expect me to believe such an interesting story?" Buffy asked and glared at Xander. "If you had been shot you would have gone to the hospital," she told him.

"Except for the little matter of having to explain to the cops why I had a bullet in me, then that would have been exactly what I would have done," Xander replied. He tried to keep his temper under control. "Tara removed the bullet and closed the wound," he told them, as Tara brought out the tray she had hidden with the bullet and Xander's blood still on it

The others were a little surprised to see this, but even more so when Xander slowly removed his t-shirt and turned around showing them the wound which Tara had closed with his first aid kit.

Whilst Giles and Willow were beginning to look convinced of Xander's view of things, Buffy was still frowning and was obviously coming up with a counter.

"A nice show Xander, but I highly doubt Riley would shoot you," Buffy said. "I also don't believe that bullet is real," she added. "You attacked Riley to get back at me for yesterday," she spat, having suddenly seen a reason for Xander to attack her boyfriend.

Xander stared at Buffy for a few moments, not at all surprised she was coming up with these unlikely explanations. She had always had an overrated opinion of herself and this just clarified it for him. He looked to Giles and Willow and whilst Giles still did not look convinced, Willow was looking less sure. He looked to where Tara stood and noted how angry she seemed to be and he could feel her over the link trying to stop herself from shouting at the blond bitch of a slayer.

"You keep telling yourself that Buffy," Xander growled in response, as the hyena stroked his anger. "After four years of friendship and of risking my life to save yours I would have thought that would have gained me some trust, but it's clear we are not friends and now get out of my apartment and don't come back," he added, having finally had it with Buffy's stupidity.

Buffy opened her mouth to shout back, before she decided it wasn't worth it. She quickly turned and left, followed by Willow who was still looking very confused over who to believe. Giles remained and took a sit on the nearby couch.

"Xander I would first like to apologize for agreeing to what Buffy said yesterday. I know you have every right to join us on patrol and it is not up to us to make decisions for you," Giles said, surprising Xander with that comment."Second whilst I do not believe you started the fight with Mr. Finn last night, I do find it hard to believe you took out a team of five men so easily," he added. "You are still under some form of possession correct?" he asked.

"No Giles, I am not," Xander replied. "Granted the hyena is not locked away like last time, but it is still contained," he added as he put his t-shirt back on.

"Tara what exactly did your spell do?" Giles inquired of the witch.

"I merged the three spirits into one, Mr. Giles. Whilst Xander no longer faces the threat of being possessed again, the spirits are still within him. Just more under control," Tara explained, not surprised Giles was the one to pick up on the fact that Xander had taken five men down by himself. "It also gives him access to the knowledge and training of the soldier, as well as the boosted abilities of the hyena," she added.

"Very interesting," Giles said thinking it over and while he was a bit worried about a repeat of yesterday, he did not distrust Tara's abilities like Buffy and Willow did. "I have to say I am very concerned by the Initiative's attempts last night to capture you," he said and looked to where Xander and Tara now sat curled up against each other and clearing stating what their relationship was. "Do you have any have idea why they would want you?" he asked.

"Giles, I was possessed by the hyena again, of course they are going to want to study me and see if they can find any advantages to it for their plans, whatever they are," Xander answered. "If they knew about the soldier as well, they would be even more interested in getting a hold of me. Think of it, instant training for new recruits," he added.

Giles could not disagree with Xander's view of things and he became a little more worried about the Initiative's true goals for being on the Hellmouth and now with this split between Xander, Tara and the others he did not see any way of stopping a second attempt on Xander.

"I will give this matter some serious thought Xander. I would suggest you keep that bullet just in case," Giles said as he stood up. "Maybe we can try and get in touch with someone who is above Miss Walsh," he suggested.

"Couldn't hurt to try Giles, now if you would excuse us, we have some shopping to do and I would appreciate it if you didn't mention mine and Tara's new status," Xander said, pleased to see the watcher was not as stupid as Buffy and Willow.

"Of course," Giles agreed, not wanting to give the Initiative any reason to turn their attention to the young witch. He said his goodbyes and left.

+++

(Initiative base seven hours later)

Graham watched as Riley and Forest prepared another mission to try and capture Xander, he noticed there were now ten men listening to Riley's little speech. This did not look very good and he doubted Xander would be able to fight his way out of this. He looked at his watch and noted night was soon to come.

He watched as Riley led his team out of the base. He sighed and wished there was something he and the others who believed as he did that this was wrong could do something, but for now their hands were tied. He turned and headed back to his quarters wondering how this would all turn out.

+++

(Four blocks from Xander's apartment)

Xander and Tara walked hand in hand carrying the bags with their shopping in the other, they had not mean to stay out all afternoon, but decided to make it a date and spent some time in the part before going to a nearby restaurant for a meal. Xander had wanted to make their first date special and from the looks Tara had given him he had succeeded. They had totally forgotten the events of the night before and got lost in the presence of each other, until night had begun to fall and they were now heading back to his apartment.

A screech of tires before them brought them to a stop and they noticed a jeep had pulled up in front of them and Riley and six men jumped out followed by a second jeep and four more soldiers. Xander cursed considering how far they were from his apartment. He was very worried about Tara’s safety and so decided to get her to run to the nearby campus where she had a room.

"Tara I want you to run to your dorm room, I'll try and delay them," he told her. "Remember what I said before, if they manage to capture me," he added before dropping his bag and charging towards the oncoming soldiers nailing one in a shoulder tackle as Tara turned and ran towards the campus, hating having to leave Xander behind, but she knew it was the only way to organize a rescue. If they were both were captured there was no chance Buffy would intervene, because she would never believe her boyfriend would do this.

Xander ducked the shot from Riley's blaster and headed straight for the git who had organized this whole thing. He managed to hit him in the face, as he repositioned his blaster for another shot. Riley dropped his blaster and began to strike back and his men formed a circle around them making sure there was no way for Xander to escape.

Riley cursed as Xander managed to land another strike this time to his side, but he managed to strike back and nail Xander in the chest. He had seen Tara run off, but he hadn't bothered to send anyone after her as she was in his opinion a very weak witch and not really worth capturing. He was brought back from his thoughts when Xander kicked him in his shin, which caused him to lose his balance. He looked up only to see Xander slam his fist into his face knocking him to the ground and breaking his nose again.

Xander almost smiled as his plan to distract them from noticing Tara's escape worked and his smile widened as he again broke Finn's nose. He turned to face Forest who attacked him and landed two blows to his side, which caused him to grunt in pain, but he pushed that pain away and just launched his head forward and caught Forest off guard with a head butt and then he followed it up with a kick to his stomach which sent Forest to the ground as well. He turned to engage another of the soldiers when he was hit in the back of the head by one of the blasters. He dropped to the floor barely conscious, he looked up as the soldier who had hit him raised the blaster again and then brought it down on him knocking him out cold, but not before he could think of Tara one last time.

Riley groaned as he slowly got back to his feet. He tried to stem the flow of blood from his nose and walked over to where Harris lay and kicked him in the gut before signaling to his men to put him in the second jeep.

"I hate that guy," Forest grunted, as he held his head.

"Me too, come on let’s get back to base so Walsh can see that we succeeded this time," Riley answered as they grabbed their dropped weapons and got back in the jeep and headed back to the Lowell house.

+++

(Tara's dorm room)

Tara slammed the door shut behind her and locked it, as she glanced around she was pleased to see that her dorm mate was not in tonight and was obviously staying with her boyfriend again. She walked over to where she kept her magic books and supplies hidden and began to look for the one with the transport spell she had found a couple of days ago, whilst going through them with Willow.

Once she had found the spell and noted that she had all the supplies necessary she lit four candles and placed them in at the points where a pentagram would be, suddenly she stopped as she felt a sudden chill run through her and she lost the connection she had to Xander. She almost stumbled onto her bed, as she began to feel alone once again. She knew it meant Xander had indeed been captured and was now unconscious. She forced the horrible feeling away and concentrated in setting up the spell. She knew it was dangerous, but she did not have time to drive up to LA and neither did Xander. Finally she was ready and began to chant focusing all of her magic into this spell.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Walsh smiled as Riley and Forest dropped Harris off into a nearby cell, not noticing Graham watching them from behind the nearby corner, she was very pleased they had not failed her this time

"Well done both of you," she said to them. "We will begin our study of him tomorrow, Riley you better go to the infirmary your nose is bleeding again," she added.

Riley nodded and quickly left after glaring at Xander's inert form one more time. Forest walked with Walsh to her office to give her a review of the mission, whilst Graham shook his head and left towards his quarter's cursing this turn of events.

+++

(LA, Angel's Investigations)

Angel looked up in surprise as a glowing rift of magic appeared in his office, Cordelia and Wesley rushed in after he shouted for them and they all watched as the magic continued to build until it flashed brightly and blinded them momentarily before it vanished. He looked back to where the rift had been and was shocked to see a young woman kneeling there, barely conscious, he was shocked when he recognized her from his last trip to Sunnydale.

"Tara?" he asked, as he rushed over and knelt next to her.

"Need help, don't call Buffy," Tara managed to stutter before collapsing against him unconscious.

Angel frowned at what she had said and wondered why she not want him to call Buffy, but he quickly shook his head and picked her up and placed her on the nearby couch, whilst Wesley began to check her over as Cordelia brought over the first aid kit.

"She is physically alright, but it looks like she has drained all of her magic in what was obviously a transportation spell," Wesley told him.

"Why would she risk such a dangerous spell?" Angel asked. "And why doesn't she want us to contact Buffy?" he asked a second later.

"Until she wakes up we aren't going to find out, are we? I suggest for now we do as she said," Cordelia responded and placed a blanket over the young witch.

Angel frowned before he nodded in agreement. He didn't like what all this was pointing to. He could see there was trouble in Sunnydale, but for some reason Tara had hinted Buffy could not or would not help to resolve it and this worried him. He went and sat in his chair, whilst Cordelia remained near Tara in case she woke up and Wesley went to research what kind of spell Tara had used to get here so fast.  
9\. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Initiative Base)

Xander groaned as he came to and slowly looked around and noted that he was in a cell. He shook his head as he realized Riley and his team had managed to succeed in capturing him. He stood up and walked to the front of the cell and looked out, noting two guards outside talking between themselves. He could see up the hallway in both directions to a degree, noting the vampires and demons in the other four cells he could actually see.

He turned and looked around his cell and sighed, as he noted there was nothing he could use to help him escape. He could hear both the hyena and the soldier within him telling him to be patient and wait for an opportunity. He sat in the corner of his cell where he could see any possible entry into the cell, before he centered his mind and tried to see if he could make contact with Tara over the bond and make sure she was alright.

+++

(LA, Angel's Investigations)

Angel turned his head to look at Tara, as he heard her groan while she began to regain consciousness. He was relieved to see her finally wake up, as she had been out cold for five hours. Cordelia and Wesley looked up from where they were going through some books, as Tara pushed herself into a sitting position They watched as she rubbed her eyes, before she leant backwards and placed her hand on her forehead and then let out another groan of pain.

"Are you alright Tara?" he asked and gained her attention with that.

"I made it," Tara responded and let out a sigh of relief, as she realized her gamble had paid off.

"You did, but it was a hell of a risk using a transportation spell," Wesley spoke up. "Something bad must have happened in Sunnydale for you to risk your life like this," he added.

Tara looked at the former watcher as he spoke and nodded, when he said that something must have happened back home. She tried to ignore the headache she felt and focused on convincing Angel and his group to help her rescue Xander. She knew that without them the chances of pulling off such a feat was not good. She also remembered that Xander had told her to get Faith to aid her as well.

She knew from her link with Xander that the former rogue slayer was not in prison like Buffy and the others thought she was. She knew that Xander and Faith had been writing to each other over for the last three months, since Faith's breakdown during her confrontation with Angel. She knew that Angel had devised a plan to make sure Buffy would believe Faith was no longer a threat to her and had enlisted the help of Kate Lockley, who sometimes still aided him in return for his help in certain cases she was assigned to deal with.

After Buffy had witnessed what she believed to be Faith's arrest she had left LA and basically forgotten about the dark haired slayer. From what she remembered seeing during her time inside Xander's mind, she knew Faith was living in a small flat close to where Cordelia herself lived.

Angel himself had no idea that Faith and Xander were in contact with each other and she doubted he would be pleased to learn that the dark haired slayer had taken such a risk, but it would seem now that Faith was on the mend and she was trying to rebuild her former friendship with certain people. She knew Xander had been shocked when he had received the first letter from Faith, but he quickly had gotten over it. She had talked to him about this just before the Initiative had tried to capture him the first time and he had told her he did not believe what happened to Faith was entirely her fault and that they could have done more to welcome her into the group. She was willing to trust her and Angel to recover Xander and stop the Initiative from whatever it was that they were up to.

"Tara, why are you here?" Cordelia asked, getting a little impatient to learn why the young witch had been willing to risk her life to get here so fast.

"It started a couple of days ago when we were fighting Ethan Rayne, a dark mage. Buffy and Xander got into an argument and she distracted him, so that he ended up getting hit by a spell Willow and I had sent towards Rayne," Tara began. "The spell hit him and it somehow broke the barriers inside his mind and allowed the left over essences of the spirits that had possessed him to regain control of his body," she explained.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Cordelia shouted. "Xander had nightmares about those things controlling him for months after they happened and you are telling us that Buffy, the almighty, ended up causing him to end up in the same situation once again?" she added with a shake of head. "I mean the soldier wasn't so much of a problem, as he was at least helpful, but the things that he had experienced were passed on into Xander's dreams and made him have very powerful nightmares. I remember talking to him about this quite a few nights," she went on. "The hyena however was real trouble. I remember Xander telling me that he feared what will happen if it will ever come into control again," she finished.

Angel took all of this on board and wondered how this factored into what had caused Tara to come here, using such a risky spell. Was Xander running around causing trouble, once again possessed by those spirits? Somehow he doubted it, no something else was going on he just knew it. He could see it in the witches' eyes.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"Xander was possessed by the hyena, which wanted revenge on Buffy and the others for stopping it the first time and basically locked it behind bars in Xander's mind. It also set its sights of finding a new mate," Tara said picking up her story and blushed when she mentioned the word mate.

"You mean you?" Cordelia asked, picking up on Tara's blush.

"Yes I mean me. It would seem Xander had been hiding how he really felt about me since just after we met and like the last time the hyena seemed to act on those feelings," Tara agreed.

"Which is why it went after Buffy the first time, correct?" Angel asked.

"Yes, she also happened to be the strongest female there at the time," Tara agreed, before winching as she realized what she had let slip.

"Which means you are stronger than Buffy is somehow?" Wesley inquired, not missing what Tara's statement actually meant.

"My magic is a lot stronger than I have ever let on to anyone, but Xander," Tara sighed, as she responded. "I didn't notice anything was wrong at first, but he did become a lot more confusing to me," she began to explain once again. "Xander told me later on, once things were back to normal, that he and the soldier spirit fought the hyena for control and managed to gain it for an hour, long enough to warn Mr. Giles of what had actually happened, before they were overrun once again by the hyena," she continued.

"What makes the hyena so strong that it could over power both Xander and the soldier spirit?" Angel asked. "I would think that combined they would be enough to keep it in check long enough for Giles and the others to fix what this spell did to him," he added.

"The hyena is a primal spirit Angel. It is powered by not only Xander's primal instincts, but his subconscious mind as well," Wesley spoke up. "I reviewed many of the past exploits of Miss Summers and her friends when I became her watcher and I did some research on both these possessions. The hyena was the stronger one, because of where it drew its strength from," he explained. "The soldier had no such power base within Xander's own body once it was cut off from the spell that powered the possession," he stated.

"That is correct Mr. Price. Anyway once the hyena regained control, he headed straight for my place and convinced me to come to his apartment to help him with something," Tara told them. "He then basically told me who he really was and he also told me about Xander's feelings towards me, which quite stunned me. He tried to seduce me, but he was also very honest in telling me things Xander knew, like the fact that we both had horrible childhoods," she went on.

"The hyena also told me how annoyed Xander had become with Buffy's actions towards him. I could see he was telling me the truth, by the look in his eyes," she stopped there, as she remembered what happened next, before she continued. "I decided to use my magic to merge the two spirits with Xander's own, giving him the ability to remember the soldiers training, as well as granting him an increase in strength and speed, as well as heightened senses from the hyena. Once the spell began, something else happened that I did not expect," she paused and tried to ignore the pain she was still feeling from doing the spell.

"What did happen?" Cordelia asked, pleased to hear her friend was not possessed anymore.

"A link formed between him and myself, which allows us to feel each other's feelings, as well as share memories," Tara answered, knowing she would have to answer this, if she wanted them to trust her.

"Is it still in effect?" Wesley inquired, as he stood and moved to the nearby bookcase and looked for a book on such things.

"Yes it is Mr. Price," Tara answered. "The bond may have not been planned, but neither of us were upset by it, as it confirmed the truth of his feelings for me and I began to trust him more than I ever had before," she continued. "Xander and I took our relationship to a new level that night. The whole series of events had changed my perspectives on a lot of things, that before that I never believed would change," she added, fighting to stop blushing as she remembered making love to Xander that night.

"So you and Xander are in a relationship, but I thought according to what Willow said when I was there last, you're not into men?" Angel asked surprised at this revelation and wondered how Xander had managed it and if he had changed since he had last met him.

"Yes we are and before these events I would say I was not into men, but that was always based on my childhood and what happened growing up, now I know it isn't the case," Tara answered, explaining why she had changed her outlook. "If I was to choose a label, I would say I was bi, but all I care about is Xander," she added.

"What about Miss Summers and the others?" Wesley inquired, as he sat back down with a book.

"One of the things that came out of all this was that me and Xander realized Buffy and the others uses us when we are needed and then basically ignore and belittle us the rest of the time. She is the worst friend ever," Tara said, getting a little angry.

"She caused the whole incident and yet she used it as a way to convince the others to kick Xander out of the group, which they agreed too, although Mr. Giles apologized later on. Xander has risked his neck for her for four years, saved her life time and time again and this is how she repays him," she growled. "And Willow is no better, after a lifetime of friendship, she stabbed him in the back like it was nothing, just to please Buffy," she finished, wincing at the jolt of pain as she tried to stand up.

Cordelia was a little surprised to hear that her ex had started a relationship with the young woman before her, but was not surprised that he had managed to work his way into her heart, she knew better than most just how easily he seemed to manage it. She was angered to learn how Buffy and Willow were mistreating him, granted there had been a time when she had treated him no better, especially after he had cheated on her, but they had both come to terms with that and moved on and she had left Sunnydale on good terms with him.

She was beginning to feel that whatever had brought Tara here had to do with Xander. She had the gut feeling he was in some kind of trouble and Buffy and the others, bar Giles would not help.

"Xander is in trouble isn't he Tara?" she asked, voicing her suspicion surprising Angel who had still been trying to work out what the problem was.

"After I finished merging the spirits, Buffy and the others turned up, but they had brought Finn with them and he heard everything that was discussed. Later on he tried to capture Xander, but thanks to having access to the traits of the soldier and the hyena, Xander was able to fight them off," Tara said, nodding her head in agreement with Cordelia's question. "Finn shot Xander in the shoulder before I could stop him. I managed to remove the bullet and close the wound and the next day Buffy stormed over after Finn called her and made it out that we were the ones who attacked him and of course she believed him. We showed her the bullet and everything, but neither she nor Willow would listen and left," she informed them. "Mr. Giles however did believe us and learned the truth about what I did to Xander and not what I told Buffy and Willow," she stated.

Cordelia could barely stop herself from shouting out in anger, as she heard that Buffy's new boyfriend had actually shot Xander and that Buffy and Willow had the gaul to ignore the evidence and defend someone who was new to the group. She had no idea things had gotten so bad, but she promised she would be having a face-off with both of them when they returned to Sunnydale, as she had a feeling that would be where they were going.

Wesley was shocked to hear about the shooting and how easily Buffy had decided to ignore it, just because the man who had done it was her own boyfriend. Angel himself promised to deal with Finn the next time they met. He knew something else had happened and it was this that had brought Tara here to get them to go back and help. He may not like Xander a whole lot, but he respected him a lot more than Finn.

"You mean Buffy and Willow have no clue that the hyena and the soldier are still active in some form or another and that Xander has access to their skills?" Angel questioned her, deciding to get back to getting some answers.

"Correct, I knew neither of them would accept that and demand Mr. Giles to do his own spell, but that would have left Xander brain damaged and I was not willing to risk such a thing happening," Tara shot back to the ensouled vampire, who just nodded his head. "The next day after Buffy and the others left we went on a date and got carried away and before we knew it, it was night time and Finn caught us with a larger group of men," Tara explained. "Xander sent me away and he fought them. I lost contact with him ten minutes later, so I know they captured him," she told them with narrowed eyes. "I have come here at his request to get your help in recovering him and stopping whatever it is, that the Initiative is really up to," she told them.

Angel blinked when he realized Xander had told Tara to come to him for help. Granted long dead were the days when the two of them were at each other's throats and before he left Sunnydale to come to LA they had a long talk and settled a lot of their problems with each other, but it was still a shock to know Xander trusted him to help.

He looked to where Cordelia and Wesley sat and noted how angry Cordelia looked at what she had learned had happened to her former boyfriend. Wesley seemed very concerned and he bet it was about Tara's comment about what the Initiative was really up to.

"We'll help you Tara," he finally said, noting the look of relief that crossed Tara's face.

"We will need Faith as well, Angel," she spoke up, shocking all of them with the mention of the former rogue slayer.

"Faith is in prison Tara. There is no way she can help us, plus she doesn't ever want to go back to Sunnydale, I know that for a fact," Angel finally told her, unsure of why Tara had brought up Faith, as no one in Sunnydale knew of his plan to hide her, whilst she recuperated from her breakdown.

"Faith and Xander have been in contact by post for the last three months. I know for a fact she is not in prison and I know she has mended her friendship with Xander to a point where she would risk returning to Sunnydale to help him," Tara informed him with a small smile at his look of shock. "Also it wouldn't be much of a risk as I can place a spell on her, which would make everyone except us and Xander see someone else's face rather than Faith's," she added.

"Damn it, I told her not to let on to anyone that she wasn't actually in prison," Angel cursed, as he stood up and began pace.

"Xander would never betray her Angel. He never blamed her for everything that happened during her stint in Sunnydale," Tara stated and the others could hear the certainty in her voice as she spoke. "He blames Buffy, himself and the others, as well as the watcher's council and no offense Mr. Price, you as well," she told them.

Wesley winced at this comment, because he knew it was actually true that he was to blame also for Faith's downfall. If he had not called the council and alerted them to the accident which led to the death of Mr. Finch then maybe they wouldn't have tried to kidnap her so she could be tried and executed and a new slayer would be called. He may have been able to help her recover from the emotional upheaval of what had happened.

Instead he had followed the council's directives and tried to help capture and kill a young teenage girl, who had accidentally killed a human, whilst carrying out her duties as a slayer and helped push her completely over the edge. When she had tortured him after arriving in LA, he had noted she seemed to have developed a self destructive instinct, which was verified by Angel when she begged him to kill her during their fight. It was because of his guilt that he had agreed to Angel's plan to pretend to put her in prison, to stop Buffy's quest to kill her sister slayer and fool Wolfram and Hart at the same time and the plan had surprisingly worked.

"If Faith has patched up her relationship with Xander, she will not like it if we do not tell her about this," Cordelia said, while walking over to him. "This also maybe a good thing, it might help her recover even more if she is helping a friend," she added and placed her hand on his arm, making him look at her. "If Tara can conceal her face with a spell so no one recognizes her, then she should be safe from anyone realizing the truth," she finished.

Angel sighed knowing that Cordelia had a point and he also knew he could deny her nothing. She had him wrapped around her finger and she knew it. He still did not know when he had begun to see her in a different light than just a friend, but it had happened. He just had to make sure he did not make the same mistake as he did with Buffy and give in to his own desires.

"Okay, we'll go and see Faith and let her know what's going on," he finally said and led the others out to his car, locking the building behind him.

+++

(Giles residence)

Rupert Giles was concerned. He had been trying to get into contact with Xander and Tara for the last five hours with no luck and he was beginning to suspect that the Initiative had managed to capture them both after their last failure.

He did not know what he could do to verify his fears. Even if he found out the Initiative had them, he could not do much to release them. He knew Buffy would never believe Finn would kidnap anyone, after she ignored the fact that he had shot Xander and he knew Willow would bow to whatever Buffy said after only a small token argument. He hoped he was wrong, but somehow he doubted it. He got up and headed for his bedroom, considering it was now eleven o clock and he had to be up early tomorrow.

+++

(Faith's apartment)

Faith Lehane looked up as Angel entered her apartment along with Cordelia, Wesley and a young girl she remembered meeting during her last adventure in Sunnydale. She wondered why she was here and why Angel would bring her here of all places, considering that she was supposed to be in hiding.

"Angel, what's going on?" she asked. "Why did you bring her here?" she asked a second later.

"Easy Faith, Tara is no threat to you and she's here because you decided to ignore my warnings and wrote to Xander," Angel responded, while leaning against the wall.

"Oh," Faith replied with a shake of her head. She should have known Angel would have found out about it eventually. "So what exactly is going on?" she asked again.

"Xander is in trouble Faith and he told me to come here and get all of your help, if he was captured," Tara replied, before anyone else could say anything.

"What?" Faith asked, instantly feeling the old anger well up. "Who has captured him?" she demanded to know.

Faith had spent the last three months trying to put her life back together. Since deciding to contact Xander she had felt a weight lift off her, when he wrote back telling her he did not hold her at fault alone for the events that accrued during her time there. During the three months they had been writing to each other, they had slowly rebuilt the friendship she had thrown away last time. She would not make the same mistake again.

Hearing that Xander was in trouble instantly put her on alert and she wondered why Tara had come here for help, instead of going to Buffy and the gang. Something did not add up here.

"The Initiative has him," Tara replied and everyone could hear the anger in her voice when she said the word Initiative.

Faith narrowed her eyes when she heard the answer and swore. She knew that meant Buffy would be of no help, because her boyfriend was involved with the Initiative and would not believe he would do anything such as this. That explained why Tara had come here to get help, but she was unsure if she could help without letting on to Buffy she was not in jail.

Tara seemed to read her mind and smiled. "Don't worry Faith, I can put a spell on you so that Buffy and the rest of those who may want to harm you will not recognize you," she told the dark haired slayer.

"Cool, then I'm going to help. I owe Xan," Faith stated.

"Then let's get going, whilst it's still night," Angel said. "We can bring Faith up to date on what's going on while we drive," he said and quickly headed out, wanting to get to Sunnydale as fast as possible to deal with Finn and his Initiative friends.

Faith grabbed her leather jacket and followed, after Tara had cast her spell to disguise her features.  
10\. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

(Initiative Base)

Xander jumped up as the door to his cell slipped open and of one of the soldiers entered. He didn't immediately recognize him, but he noted he seemed very nervous. He could feel the hyena and the soldier within him telling him to attack now, but somehow he did not believe this man was any threat to him. He was to jumpy, as if he was afraid of being caught anywhere near here.

"Move now, the guards will be back in a minute," the soldier hissed. "And make sure you knock me out before you go," he added.

"Why are you doing this, after capturing me?" Xander asked, as he moved forward wary of this being some sort of trick.

"Because not everyone here agrees with what Walsh and the others are doing and we especially do not agree with her capturing none hostiles like you, now go," the solider replied with an agitated look.

Xander nodded, pleased to hear this before darting forward and nailing the man in the face, knocking him out of the cell and into the nearby wall where he slid to the floor unconscious. Xander looked around before running down the hall, ignoring the shouts of the imprisoned vampires and demons inside the other cells.

As soon as he turned the corner he ran into two guards. They stopped in shock at his appearance, which gave him the chance to spear one of them in the chest and following up with a viscous backhand which sent him to the ground. He grabbed the fallen soldier's blaster and kicked the other soldier, who was just starting to react in the back of his leg, dropping him to one knee. He turned and stunned him, before running forward.

He ran around another corner, only to come face to face with Finn and another guard who were both laughing at something, but quickly stopped when they noticed him. He smirked at them both before dropping them both with the stunner, as they went for their sidearms. He ran past them and he made sure to kick Finn in his face, breaking his nose again, which satisfied the more violent approaches of the hyena and the soldier.

By now the base alarms were beginning to sound and he wondered what had taken them so long to sound. He guessed the soldier who had released him had not been working alone. He dived around a corner as another guard came running down one of the other corridors and fired his own blaster at him. He waited until the guard began to turn the corner before whacking the butt of the blaster into the man's gut and then followed through with jamming down the back of his neck, knocking him out.

He turned and ran, hoping to find an exit only to run into three more guards who were blocking his way. He managed to get off two blasts with his stunner which took down two of the three guards, but the third managed to fire his own which nicked him in the leg sending him to the floor.

At this point he allowed the hyena to come to the fore of his mind and take control, unlike when he was possessed, he was very much still the main presence in his mind. The hyena was just making the decisions of what to do. He watched as he dived at the guard, who had come closer, believing he had taken care of the threat. The hyena tackled him to the ground and pummeled him into unconsciousness, before running down the corridor and turning the corner, to find the staircase which obviously led upwards in front of him.

"Hold it right there Harris," a voice shouted behind him.

He turned to find the leader of the Initiative Maggie Walsh, who posed as a college professor and taught Buffy and Willow, and seven guards, which were all pointing blasters and two Beretta's at him. He knew he would not be able to get up the stairs quickly enough without being shot and he didn't want to risk been hit by any more bullets. He quickly forced all of his concentration on Tara and the bond she had forced between them and let her know everything that had just happened, including the fact that not all the people who belonged to the Initiative were enemies.

He felt her just at the back of his mind, pleased to hear he was okay and he could feel her send a burst of information back to him, which alerted him to the fact she had gotten Angel, Faith, Cordelia and Wesley to come back and help rescue him. He looked back at Walsh, as she slowly approached with two of the guards and he wondered for a moment if he could take her captive and escape that way, until two more guards came up behind him and grabbed his hands and roughly pushed them behind his back.

"How did you get out of your cell, Harris?" Walsh asked with a frown.

"Finn came in intending to continue our last fight and I beat him to the punch," Xander replied. "You really should get a hold of some better personnel, Walsh," he added.

"Funny response for a prisoner," Walsh replied, wondering if Riley indeed had intended to get some revenge on Harris and got more than he bargained for. "Forest, find Riley," she ordered, as she saw him run around the corner, just as Xander answered.

"Yes mam," he replied and ran off.

Xander just smiled at the woman, who was clearly annoyed at the fact that one of her prisoners had almost escaped. He almost laughed as Forest returned with the soldier who had helped him escape in the first place.

"Where is Riley?" Walsh all but demanded to know.

"He is unconscious and lies in Harris' cell," Forest replied. "I found Graham down the hall just waking up from trying to stop Harris escaping," he reported, nodding towards the soldier who had helped him and still had blood running down his nose. "Finn has a broken nose again, which does suggest he got into another fight with Harris," he added.

Walsh frowned at this answer, whilst Xander did everything he could to stop from laughing out loud at this turn of events. It was clear to him that Graham had come back to himself, before Finn and placed him in the cell, so he would take the blame for letting him out. The fact he had broken his nose again just helped to make it look more like Finn got into his cell, to try and beat him up and he escaped as a result. He quickly relayed this to Tara as well, almost smiling as he could almost hear her laugh over the bond.

"Take Riley to the infirmary and then, once he has been patched up, put him in the brig for a full day, as punishment for his mistake," she ordered Forest and Graham, not noticing Graham was trying his best to hold in his own laughter, that his ruse had worked, although he was annoyed Xander had not managed to escape, but he had almost made it. "Put Harris back in his cell and make sure the guards keep a close watch on him," she added before storming of.

Xander smirked once, before he was dragged back to his cell, past the soldiers he had taken down. He could hear the hyena laughing at the damage they had done, whilst the soldier just gave the impression of been impressed by what he had just done.

+++

(Angel's car)

Faith had listened to everything that had happened to lead up to this, she had grown more and more annoyed at Buffy for her actions towards Xander and Tara and also at her dismissive attitude towards Giles as well, until she needed him for something.

She shook her head at how dumb both Buffy and Red acted. How could Xander possible fake being shot? She had smirked at the fact that Xander had bedded the witch and claimed her as his mate, as the hyena would put it. She felt a slight wench as she realized she had missed out on any chance of forming a relationship with Xander because of her past mistakes, but she quickly shook these thoughts off.

"Tara, are you okay?" she asked, as she noticed the witches' sudden distraction.

"Xander just contacted me over the bond I created between us. He was set free by one of the soldiers," Tara answered.

"Why would one of them do that?" Angel asked, as he glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road.

"It seems that there is a small group of Initiative personnel who do not agree with their goals and especially the orders to capture non hostiles," Tara responded frowning, not liking the way that sounded.

"Does that mean they are taking other people in who have some sort of ability?" Wesley asked, also picking up the way that had sounded.

"It's a possibility," Angel responded. "We'll have to make sure we do a very firm look through the base, in case there are any other people down there," he told the others.

"Tara did Xander escape and if not, will these people help us when we attack?" Faith asked, looking at the witch who was suddenly smiling.

"No, he did not, but he does believe they will help us when we make our move. I think one of us should make contact with the leader of this group or at least who Xander thinks is the leader, he is called Graham, and see if we can coordinate an attack," Tara informed them.

"A good idea, I think either me or Faith should do that, as they will not recognize us," Cordelia spoke up. "What were you smiling about Tara?" she asked.

"Xander broke Finn's nose during his escape and Graham placed him in his cell, making it look like he was responsible for the escape, because he put his personal wants first," Tara explained, laughing a little at the thought. "According to what he sent over the bond last, Finn has been locked up in the brig for a full day for it," she added.

"Good," Angel said with a laugh, pleased to hear Finn was not having an easy time of it. "It's nice to see that Xander is annoying someone who actually deserves it," he stated with a smile.

"As far as he was concerned Angel you did deserve to be annoyed at the time," Tara responded. "Xander will never fully trust you Angel, because you are a vampire and also because your sire was Darla, who murdered his second best friend Jessie," she continued. "But he knew he could count on you to help when it was needed, which is why he trusted you to help me get him out of there," she continued. "His dislike of you was due to the fact you both fancied Buffy at the time, but that ended when he started to date Cordelia. He just liked to annoy you for the fun of it," she told him.

"I guess I can understand that," Angel said with a sigh. "It's nice to know I've earned some trust from him in all this time," he added. "I guess I was holding on to some of my past thoughts on Xander and it's time to let that go along with a lot more of my past connections there," he continued.

"What do you mean by that, Angel?" Cordelia asked, quite curious about what he meant.

"I mean my connection to Buffy," he replied. "It's clear she is still making huge mistakes where it concerns her boyfriends," he added. "I killed a lot of people when Angelus retook control after I lost my soul and she allowed it, because she let her feelings control her and now her friend is in danger and she is ignoring it, just because it makes her current boyfriend look bad," he explained. "It's made it clear to me how she allows herself to be distracted from her calling and ignores her friends when they need her, I've just been helping her believe she is doing nothing wrong by not making her face the truth," he said sighing. "It's time that I do something I should have done a long time ago and wake her up to her own stupidity," he stated, knowing this would properly be the last time he saw Buffy in such friendly terms, because he knew she did not take thing like this easily.

"Do you really think she will listen?" Wesley inquired. "Miss Summers can be quite stubborn, she quit the council for you, when you were poisoned remember?" he added.

"Another point in fact Wes, she quit the people who, whilst pains in the neck, can help her keep this world safe, just because they refused to help a vampire who they are sworn to destroy," Angel replied "I never saw it before, because I was blind by my feelings for her. Well no longer, she has to wake up and see what is really going on," he told the others. "I will not allow Xander to suffer or be killed just because Buffy doesn't want to see the truth about her lover," he stated.

Faith smiled at this, pleased to see that Angel was no longer going to be blind to Buffy's faults. Xander whilst loyal to Buffy had never been afraid to confront her when she made mistakes. She knew she was still trying to make up for her own mistakes, but she had at least admitted she made them, whilst Buffy had always believed she had never made any mistakes in her life.

She was a little nervous about going to Sunnydale so soon, but thanks to Tara's spell she was safe from been discovered by Buffy and the gang. She looked to where Tara sat and noticed she had her eyes closed and she wondered what she was doing.

"How far are we Angel?" she asked.

"Another hour and half I'd say," Angel replied. "I'd try and get some rest for now," he suggested.

Faith and the others nodded and each tried to settle in their seats and fall asleep, each hoping their return to Sunnydale would go smoothly.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Riley paced his cell incensed that he was in the brig for something he hadn't done, but Walsh, Forest nor Graham would believe he hadn't entered Harris's cell, aiding in his escape attempt. He did not know how Harris had gotten out, but he would find out and if someone had let him out and then made sure he was blamed for it, he promised he would make them pay.

Graham sat in his dorm in Lowell house above the Initiative Base and thought over how he could help get Xander out of the base. Walsh was ordering tighter security measures so it would be a lot harder to get to Xander's cell without being seen and the control room was guarded a lot more, as Walsh had discovered someone had turned off the cameras outside the cell block.

He lay on his bed and wondered how he could stop what was happening. Walsh was beginning to act like a crazy woman and was ignoring the harm she was doing to the innocent people who had magic in them or some other ability she was having captured. He and his fellow resisters had to find some way to stop this, before it got out of hand and more innocents died.

Xander leaned against the wall of his cell, listening to Tara over the bond. It seemed to be getting stronger, nearly to the point where they could actually talk to each other now. This pleased him greatly, as it was helping to keep him calm. He was happy to hear Tara had succeeded in getting Angel, his crew and Faith to help her in a rescue attempt.

Tara was filling him in on what Angel had said during their trip back to Sunnydale. He was a little surprised to find out, that finally the souled vampire was going to cut himself off from Buffy and make her see the mistakes she had made. He sat himself down and wondered what would happen, once he was out of here and the Initiative had been dealt with one way or another.

Their plan to contact Graham and coordinate an attack was a good one and the soldier within him was pleased to see they weren't just going to storm in without a plan. He quickly reminded Tara about Spike, who had escape from this base just after he had gotten a chip put inside his head. He may be able to help them get in, if they couldn't get in contact with Graham. He heard her agree before she suggested that he got some rest for when they did come for him. He wished her a goodnight, before he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, while wishing he was at home with Tara curled up with him.

+++

(Angel's Car)

Tara smiled as she caught Xander's wishful thought and she couldn't help but agree. She wished they were together in his apartment, instead of in this situation. She missed his comforting presence and his loving attitude towards her, but she would get him back and she would help make Finn and his fellow Initiative personnel, who were not part of Graham's resistance, pay for what they had done.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she found it very hard in the cramped back seat and she couldn't help but feel lonely without Xander's presence.

"Don't worry Tara we'll get him back," she heard Faith say and she turned to see the dark haired slayer was looking at her with a small smile.

"I know we will," she said, smiling back before finally pushing away the lonely feeling and began to fall asleep, as Angel pushed the car harder, hoping to beat the sun rise.

+++

(Sunnydale next day)

Buffy walked onto campus alongside Willow, they had stopped at Giles' house, who had told them of his concerns for Xander and Tara, who he could not contact. Buffy had lost her temper that her watcher could think her boyfriend would try and kidnap them and told him to go to hell before storming out, followed by Willow. She couldn't understand how any of them could question Riley's good intentions, after all the help he had given them.

Willow was feeling more and more confused as what was the truth and what was a lie. If Giles was right, Xander and Tara had vanished and could not be found and whilst he believed what they had been told the day before about the attempted kidnapping of Xander, she like Buffy couldn't see why the Initiative would bother to try and take him. But who else could have taken them, if they were missing? And if they were wrong and the Initiative was behind this, then she was betraying her friends by doing nothing, but she didn't want to anger Buffy by suggesting they ask Riley about this.

+++

(Giles Residence)

Giles sighed as he sat down and drunk from his tea, his brief meeting with Buffy and Willow had not gone very well and again Buffy was unwilling to listen to any bad remarks about Finn or the Initiative and Willow seemed to be willing to follow her lead. He looked up as someone knocked on his door and he quickly walked over and opened it and was shocked to find Tara outside.

"Tara, my god. Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you and Xander since last night," he asked grabbing the surprised witch into a small hug, before releasing her and checking to make sure she was unhurt.

"I'm okay Mr. Giles," Tara assured the watcher, pleased that he seemed so concerned about her and Xander. "I went to LA to get some help. Xander was captured by the Initiative last night and he told me if it should happen, I should get Angel and his crew to come and aid us, because he knew Buffy and Willow would not," she explained to him.

Giles sighed as he heard this, knowing she was quite correct, especially after the confrontation he just had with his slayer about this very fact.

"Where are they staying?" he asked, as he quickly gathered a few things, intending to go and see Angel and plan their next move.

"They've set up at Angel's mansion on Crawford Street, which has been abandoned since Angel left," Tara answered. "I came to see if you will help us retrieve Xander and any other innocent people they may have taken?" she told him.

"Of course I will help Tara, let's go," he responded, as he left his house, followed by Tara.  
11\. Chapter 11

Note: A big thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for helping out with this chapter.

Chapter 11

(Crawford Street Mansion)

Giles shook hands with Angel and Wesley before giving Cordelia a quick hug, pleased to see her looking so well. When he looked at the fourth person in the group there was something about her he found very familiar and he could also sense magic around her.

"May I ask why one of your group is hiding behind a glamor, Angel?" he asked as he took a seat across from the others, joined a second later by Tara who was not surprised that he had sensed the magic of her spell due to his own background.

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised you noticed G, it's me," Faith said, deciding to trust her ex-watcher.

"Faith," Giles stated, a little shocked to learn she was not in prison like Buffy had reported, but then when he thought about it, he was actually not surprised Angel had found some way to help to keep her out of jail and fooling Buffy, who would not have allowed her to live otherwise. "I take it if you are here, you are better than the last time we met?" he asked.

"I've been putting my life back together G for the last five months," Faith replied, deciding to be honest. "Xander and I have been in contact for three months, patching up our friendship, and that's why I'm risking being here to help my friend," she told him.

"I am pleased to hear you are finally beginning to recover after everything that has happened to you Faith, and I trust Xander to know if you were being truthful or not," Giles responded. "Now that is out of the way, how are we going to recover Xander?" he asked, turning to Angel, who looked surprised that he had accepted Faith's presence so easily.

"We know for a fact that there is a small group of Initiative personnel who disagree with the orders to capture people like Xander and have already tried to release him once. Sadly he was recaptured, but it gives us hope that we can retrieve him," Angel replied. "Cordelia is going to go and find the leader of this group, a man called Graham, and bring him back here so we can plan a joint attack. Tara and Faith are going to go and pick up Spike because he's been inside the base before and maybe of some help," he explained.

"Interesting," Giles mused. "How did you find this out?" he inquired.

"When I merged the spirits within Xander I somehow created a bond between us Mr. Giles. It has grown stronger since it was forged, allowing us to actually talk to each other inside our minds," Tara answered. "He told me everything that had happened. At the moment he's being forced to go through some tests by Walsh," she told him.

Giles was shocked because it really pointed out how strong Tara must be when it came to her magic. It was clear to him she had hidden her true strength from them and considering everything that had happened recently, he could not blame her for doing so. Buffy's actions must have convinced the young witch that she could not be trusted too far and Willow's constant bowing to Buffy's demands must have done the same. This saddened him because she could have been a great help and an even better friend.

"I see," he said. "That is very advanced magic Tara. Now, I suggest we move carefully. I had a run in with Buffy and Willow this morning just before Tara came to get me and I voiced my worry they had been kidnapped by the Initiative," he told them. "Buffy exploded and told me to go to hell and she stormed out, followed by Willow who just looked confused. I do not believe it would do us any good if she saw Cordelia in Sunnydale," he added. "It would convince her something is going on and she would warn Riley," he finished.

"I can take care of that with the same glamor Faith is under, Mr. Giles. That way Buffy and Willow won't recognize her," Tara informed the others with a smile, pleased their plans were coming along.

"Okay, then I would suggest that we get that done now. The quicker we are, the better for Xander, as it is not beyond Walsh to try and operate on Xander in her attempts to gain information that might help in her plans. Whatever they are," Giles said, removing his glasses and polishing them before putting them back on, missing the amused looks Angel, Cordelia and Tara shared.

"Maybe Graham will be able to tell us about what the Initiative is really up to," Cordelia mused, whilst Tara cast her glamor on her so she would not be recognized.

"If Walsh really hurts Xander in any way, she will pay!" Tara promised, focusing on Giles after finishing her spell before heading out of the building, followed by Faith, who would be driving Angel's car, so that they could pick up Spike from his crypt. In the meantime Cordelia headed out to find Graham at the campus, leaving Angel and Giles to continue to go over what had happened.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Xander glared at Walsh as he was shoved back into his cell after been forced to go through test after test. She just smiled at him in return before leaving as the door to his cell closed. He turned and smiled as he heard Tara's voice over the bond, telling him how their plans were going. He frowned when she told him of the blow up between Buffy, Willow and Giles.

He shook his head and as he sat in the corner he began to think about what he would do once he had been rescued and the Initiative had been dealt with, one way or the other. It was clear to him now that staying in Sunnydale may not be the best thing for him to do. He decided to talk to Tara about it once all of this had been sorted out.

+++

(Lowell House)

Graham walked out of the campus house that hid the Initiative base. As he headed for his first class of the day, he was still thinking over how to help Xander escape and then to stop Walsh taking any more people of the street in her insane plan. He looked up as someone stepped into his path and kept him from moving on his way.

"Can I help you?" he asked, not recognizing the very beautiful young woman in front of him, but liking the view all the same. He noticed the amused look the woman shot him as he checked her out.

"I'm looking for Graham Hicks?" she asked. "I was told he stayed here at Lowell house," Cordelia added, knowing her looks would help in getting the answers she wanted.

"That's me," Graham responded. "What can I do for you?" he asked, wondering who this woman was and how she knew him.

"I'm a friend of Xander and Tara's and I need your help in getting him out of the Initiative. I know you lead a small resistance to your bosses' plans," Cordelia replied, deciding to get straight to the point.

Graham became very nervous as the woman answered as it occurred to him that this could be a trap laid out by Walsh to discover if there were any disloyal personnel in the Initiative. However, as he looked the woman in the eyes, he could tell she was quite serious. He knew from what Riley had said that Tara Maclay was on Xander's side and if this woman was a friend of theirs, he could trust her.

"Are you alone?" he asked, not seeing how one person could really help.

"No, I'm part of a small group who have come to recover our friend and stop whatever it is the Initiative is really up to," Cordelia replied. "Please come with me," she added.

Graham didn't really know what to do, but he decided it couldn't hurt to talk to these people, especially if they could help him and his other resisters to stop whatever it was Walsh was really after. He told the woman to lead the way.

+++

(Spike's Crypt)

Spike looked up as the door to his crypt was flung open and the witch friend of Buffy and Willow's entered. He remembered her name was Tara and along with Xander, she seemed to be the only members of the group who still considered him a threat after the Initiative had put that damn chip in his head. He didn't recognize the second person who entered, but he could tell from the way she moved she was a fighter.

"Spike, we need you to come with us," Tara told him. "Xander has been captured by the Initiative and we need your help to retrieve him, and just to let you know, Buffy and Willow are not a part of this," she added.

"Why should I bother to help you?" he asked with a smirk, which was quickly wiped of his face as the unknown woman hit him across the face, sending him flying into the nearby wall.

"Because if you don't help, I'm going to ram a stake into you," the woman growled.

"You're a slayer," Spike realized. "Oh very good, I wonder if Buffy knows the wild card known as Faith is running around Sunnydale again," he added with a smile. "I thought you were in prison?" he asked. "Nice glamor by the way," he stated as he lit one of his smokes.

Faith frowned as the vampire identified her and she quickly launched a wicked back kick, which dropped the vampire to his knees. "Tell anyone Spike and you are really dead and I will make sure it hurts before I dust you, got it?" she growled.

"Yeah I got it," Spike said, quickly realizing that unlike Buffy, this slayer would not hesitate to kill him if he pushed her too far.

"Good, now jump into the boot of our car and let's go," Faith told him with a look that just begged him to try and say no.

Despite what some people might say, Spike was not stupid and he knew these two women were very serious about him helping them. And so he grabbed his blanket and ran out to the car, followed by Tara and Faith who opened the boot, allowing the quickly burning vampire to jump into it and then closed it so he was protected from the sun.

"I can't believe Buffy would allow a vampire with Spike's rep to live after everything he has done, but then considering how she was with Angel when he became Angelus, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised," Faith said with a shake of her head as she got into the driver's side of the car, followed by Tara.

"She think he's harmless, but me and Xander both think there's a chance the chip could malfunction and allow him to start killing again, so we've been keeping a close eye on him," Tara told him.

"Glad to see someone is on the ball around here," Faith said, wondering what else Buffy would do in the future that would endanger people's lives.

+++

(College Campus)

Riley walked into the campus canteen and quickly spotted Buffy and Willow sitting at one of the tables. He grabbed his food and quickly joined them, kissing Buffy as he sat down.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked with a smile, whilst laughing inwardly at the fact he had pulled one over on them both.

"Not so good. Giles basically accused you of kidnapping Xander and Tara just because he couldn't get through to them this morning," Buffy said in response. "I told him to get lost. I can't understand how he can be so blind to all the good you and the Initiative are doing that he would believe you are capable of such things," she added with a shake of her head, whilst Willow refused to comment, still unsure what was really going on and who was actually involved.

Riley almost frowned as he heard his girlfriend's reply and cursed inwardly that the watcher was been so suspicious. He would have to keep a close watch on him and make sure he didn't press Buffy and Willow to check out the Initiative too closely, although from the sounds of it, that might not be too much of a problem at the moment.

He believed Walsh would be very pleased to hear his lies had actually caused Buffy to not just separate herself from Xander and Tara, but from her watcher as well. Maybe he could get Walsh to try and convince Buffy to join the Initiative, if he could make her break up her friendship with Willow as well. He leaned back into his chair and thought about that for a few seconds before deciding to talk to Walsh after his lessons.

"Buffy, the Initiative has no interest in Xander or Tara," he finally said. "We do not capture humans," he lied. "It's not part of our mission to capture or harm non-demonic hostiles," he added with a smile.

"I know that Riley. I just wish Giles, Xander and Tara could see it," Buffy shot back. "I hate that they are trying to make you and Walsh out to be evil," she told him.

"That's their problem Buffy, and if that's how they want to view us, maybe you should ask yourself why they're trying to make us out to be so evil," he told her, deciding to try and further the gap between his girlfriend and her friends.

"What reason could they have for doing it?" Buffy asked, looking at him with a frown.

"Maybe they're scared you're going to join us and leave them hanging. Maybe they don't want to lose their control of the slayer," he lied, missing the deepening frown on Willow's face.

"They have no control over me. I quit the council, so technically Giles isn't even my watcher anymore," Buffy hissed, outraged at the very idea, forgetting everything Giles and Xander had done for her as she so often did.

"I don't think Giles ever thought he controlled Buffy, Riley," Willow finally spoke up, not liking how this conversation was going.

"I was just saying. It was an idea," Riley said with what he hoped was a harmless smile, knowing he had planted the seed of doubt inside Buffy's head by the look on her face, before she started to eat her food.

+++

(Crawford Street Mansion)

Giles and Angel looked up as first Cordelia and Graham entered the mansion, followed a few minutes later by Tara and Faith and then a second later a smoking Spike.

"What's an HST doing here?" Graham asked.

"Spike has been inside your base, when you chipped him and so he has Intel we can use," Tara replied. "He can also help us in getting Xander out by distracting the guards, seeing as he can't kill or harm any humans at the moment," she continued.

Graham thought that over before nodding as he acknowledged the point. He didn't like having to work with a vampire, but he saw the sense in what Tara had said.

"Graham, I would like you to meet Angel, Cordelia and Hope," Tara said, introducing the others, but deciding to leave Faith's true name out just in case it got back to Buffy. "You already know Giles," she added, indicating the former watcher.

Faith smirked at the play on her name by Tara as she introduced the group to the guy who had almost gotten Xander out of the Initiative's hands.

"Nice to meet you all. Now I think we better get down to business, because it won't be long before Walsh starts her real experiments on Xander," Graham responded as he sat down.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Xander listened as Tara relayed everything that was said during the meeting with Graham over the bond. He added his own points with ideas from both the hyena and the soldier. They needed a solid plan if they were to be successful in taking out the entire Initiative personnel so they could find out what they were really up to. Spike's input was surprisingly helpful and helped them decided how to get into the base without having to fight their way through Lowell house.  
12\. Chapter 12

Note: A big thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for helping out with this chapter.

Chapter 12

(Crawford Street Mansion)

Tara was pleased with the plans that had been put down so far, but she was worried about what might happen, whilst they were fighting their way to Xander's cell. She knew it was possible that Finn or Walsh could try and dispose of him in any way possible, once it became clear who had attacked. She knew it rested on Graham and his fellow resistance members to get him out during the attack.

She calmed down some, as Xander's voice came over the bond, telling her he would be ready for any chance to get out of his cell, even if it meant confronting Finn and Walsh and their side arms. She just hoped Buffy herself would not become involved in this, as she had pointed out to the others that it was a possibility that Finn may try and call Buffy in to help them. Faith had made it clear she would deal with Buffy if she turned up and Tara could see the recovering slayer was eager for a rematch with her fellow slayer, especially in light of what she had allowed to happen to Xander and herself.

Angel promised he would do everything he could to stop Buffy from getting close to them, if he saw her first. Cordelia had rolled her eyes and made it clear the blond would most likely try and stake him for attacking her current lover, as it was quite clear who she would believe when the time came to talk.

"Alright, I think it's clear. If Buffy does get involved, she is to be taken down as well and placed in the cells until we can think of a way to deal with them all," Giles finally said, stopping the argument between Cordelia and Angel before it could get more heated.

"Xander already has that covered Mr. Giles," Tara told them, as she listened to Xander over the bond.

"How so Tara?" Giles asked, giving her his full attention.

"He intends to contact a general, the soldier spirit he was possessed by knew," Tara answered. "This general is part of another black ops unit that deals with the supernatural, which the soldier once worked for before being killed by a fellow soldier," she continued. "It's a risk, but it's one he feels he has no other choice, but to try," she finished.

"Why is it a risk?" Faith inquired, not liking how that sounded.

"Thanks to the possession he underwent, Xander has access to military training that makes him a deadly weapon. He also has access to knowledge no civilian is supposed to know about and he has always been afraid of them learning about this and locking him up in prison so that he can't tell anyone," Tara answered, repeating what Xander was telling her. "They would consider him a threat to national security. The soldier he was possessed by was a major, he had taken part in a dozen black ops and other secret missions," she informed them. "He had a high clearance level to most military files and information and it is this that would convince the government he must be kept under control. So Xander has always kept a low profile, but the Initiative has to be stopped and the only way to do it, is by going through military channels," she stated.

"No wonder Xander ripped through Riley and his team the first time. They didn't know about this, did they?" Graham asked, very impressed that Xander had not abused the gifts he had been given.

"No, they don't. Luckily Buffy and Willow didn't mention it to Finn so neither does Walsh," Tara replied.

"Tara, is Xander quite certain this is the only way to shut the Initiative down?" Angel asked. "We don't want to break him out only for him to end up in another, more secure, prison," he added.

"Yes, he is Angel," Tara said with a nod. "He knows he can work out some arrangement with the general, as he and the soldier were very good friends," she told them. "He may also use it as a way to help us," she said.

"How so?" Cordelia inquired, wondering what was going through her ex boyfriend's head at the moment.

"He may try and get Graham and his fellow resisters to be allowed to stay and help keep the Hellmouth shut if they want to. He would make sure they would be under the general's direct command, so they wouldn't have to worry about any backlash from all this," Tara answered. "He also may try and get us government support and some other things," she said, directing the last bit straight at Faith.

Faith quickly realized what Tara was hinting at and she couldn't help a small smile from appearing on her face. She wondered if Xander would indeed get her clear of the chargers against her and make it safe for her to come out of hiding.

"Tara, no offense, but I'm a vampire. These people are more likely to kill me, than help me," Angel said.

"Xander is sure he can work out a deal which will help us all. Have some faith in him Angel, he knows what he's doing," Tara stated, looking at the souled vampire.

"Guess it couldn't hurt to try. Having some support in all of this might be helpful in protecting the innocent," Angel relented.

"I'll talk to my group and see what they have to say, as well as prepare them for the attack tonight," Graham said, thinking very hard about all he had learned. He wondered why the Initiative wasn't connected in any way to this secondary supernatural black ops unit. "I'll head back and start setting things in motion, we'll be ready," he said, heading for the door.

"Graham, Xander wants to know if any of your people are good at cracking computer systems," Tara asked just as he reached the door.

Graham was still getting used to the idea that Xander and Tara could talk to each other over some kind of a mystical bond as he had learned during their planning session, but he did think it was useful. "I've got two. Why?" he shot back.

"Because after we secure the base Xander wants to find out what the Initiative's real plans are and how far Walsh has violated her orders," Tara replied.

"Understood, they'll be ready," Graham promised before he left

"Tara is Xander sure this general friend of the soldier's is still alive and in charge of this other black ops unit?" Giles asked, wanting a bit more information on this subject.

"Yes Giles," Tara answered. "The soldier, a Major Ryan Jackson, was killed seven years ago. Two years before Ethan Rayne cast the spell that imbued Xander with his spirit. The general is only in his fifties and he's dedicated to his job and he hates black ops units that go rogue," she informed them.

"Very well," Giles said, relaxing a bit.

"I suggest we get prepared for tonight," Wesley said, having listened to everything that had been said and hoping things would go smoothly.

"Spike, if you betray us, believe me, I will make you scream," Faith promised the blond vampire with a glare, as she went to grab her gear. "Are we clear?" she asked.

"Yeah, very clear, slayer," Spike replied, lighting a smoke. "I'll keep to the plan. I want to get payback on the Initiative as much as you do, and if that means rescuing Harris, then that's what I'll do," he added.

The others all nodded, but none of them were stupid enough to believe that they wouldn't need to watch their backs were Spike was concerned. Tara made a silent promise to deal with Spike in a way that would make him more trusting before getting ready for the attack.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Xander was still unsure whether bringing the general into this was the best idea, but he could see no other way to shut the Initiative down without a major backlash on them for attacking a military base. The general would be more willing to listen to their reasons for doing so than most other soldiers. No, what worried him the most was letting on he had the memories and experiences of Major Jackson in his head, but he decided it was the best option to end this and so made sure Tara informed the others of his plan, whilst they continued to iron out their own.

He also saw an opportunity to maybe help Faith and Angel's group if he was lucky, as well as protect Graham and his group from court martial for what would be considered mutiny. This whole situation was going to cause their exposure to the government one way or the other and he was more willing to do it on their own terms than the Initiative's. He began to pace in his cell as he readied himself for the attack.

+++

(Buffy's house)

Willow tried not to sigh as she listened to her friend rant and rave about what Riley had said. It would seem she believed he was correct and that Giles was afraid that he was losing control of her, as if he had any. She shook her head and wondered why Buffy always thought the worst of her friends when it came to her boyfriends. She noticed Joyce, who was sitting on the sofa, did not look too convinced by her daughter's thinking process either.

"Buffy, you're not making any sense. Giles has never believed he had any kind of control over you," Willow tried to point out.

"He always thought he did, ever since we met him. Come on Willow, he still acts as if he's my watcher and tries to get me to do what he wants," Buffy shot back. "Riley is right, they've been trying to keep me under control and now that I'm making new alliances they're trying to stop me by painting them as bad guys. Well, it won't work," she added.

"Buffy, after everything Rupert, Xander and Tara have done for you over the years, I cannot believe you would believe that they would do anything of the kind," Joyce finally cut in. "They have risked their lives to help you and this is the thanks they get? You should be ashamed of yourself," she added, very disappointed in her daughter.

"The only reason they have helped me is so that they can control me and what I do, Mom. I should have seen it years ago. I've been so blind," Buffy said, utterly convinced by Riley's view of things. "Well, no longer. I think I'll ask Professor Walsh if I can join the Initiative tonight, before I patrol," she said, before going to her room.

"How can she believe that?" Willow asked Joyce, really not liking where this was going. "I mean, I'm still not sure that Giles is right and that Xander and Tara were kidnapped by the Initiative, but I don't think he was ever trying to control Buffy, just guide her, and Xander just wanted to be her friend," she added, feeling even more confused.

"I don't know half of what goes on in her mind anymore, Willow," Joyce said with a sigh. "She's becoming more and more like her father everyday and that worries me," she added. "It's like a repeat of Angel, she believes him over everyone else and ignores anything that might make him look bad," she continued. "As for the Initiative kidnapping Xander and Tara, I would not be surprised to find they did have something to do with it. There's something I find very uneasy about Riley and he seems determined to destroy Buffy's friendships. And she's allowing it to happen," she added, looking frustrated. "I don't know what to do," she finished.

"Me neither," Willow admitted. "If I say anything, I'll most likely end up losing her as a friend as well, just like what happened with Giles this morning, and I don't want that at all," she told her.

"Are you willing to lose your other friends, just to keep Buffy happy, Willow?" Joyce asked, as she stood up. "You've been friends with Xander a lot longer than with Buffy and he and Tara are very nice people. You should ask yourself if keeping Buffy happy is worth losing them and Rupert," she added, before heading to the kitchen, leaving the red head to her thoughts.

Upstairs Buffy began to think about what she would say to Walsh to get her to accept her as part of the Initiative. She bet Riley would be really pleased to have her as part of the team as it was clear to her that the others were no longer willing to work with her and too busy trying to control her, just as Riley had suggested.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Xander growled as he was forced to do more tests, while Walsh and Finn looked on him with smirks on their faces. He could hear them talk about Finn's recent talk with Buffy and Willow, and how he had convinced her that Xander and Giles were trying to control her and had thus widened the breach between them.

He was informing Tara and through her the others of these developments, which he could tell from Tara's thoughts were not received very well by Giles or Angel. Not that he could blame them, but to him Buffy was the one most responsible for these events, for believing Finn over him and the others, who she had known a hell of a lot longer.

He found her increasing reliance on Finn to be just another of her long list of big mistakes. He decided as he was forced to run through the current test that when this was over, he would make sure Buffy's decisions would no longer leave people in harm's way one way or the other, no matter what it took.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now. Put him back in his cell and take a blood sample. I want to see if there is any way to detect for signs of possession," Walsh ordered.

"Yes ma'm," one of the scientists replied, trying to keep the distaste for what was going on from not showing on her face. She was one of Graham's resisters and she hated having to follow Walsh's increasingly alarming orders, which showed she would stop at nothing to get results.

Graham walked around the corner as Xander was pulled off towards his cell. He made sure not to react as he noticed that Walsh and Riley were following them.

"Ma'm," he said with a polite nod.

Walsh just nodded her head before walking off to go over her latest results and tests not just on Harris, but the few demons they had dissected in the last two days. Riley paused for a few moments to watch Graham before he turned around again and followed his boss, missing the suitable nod Graham sent to the female scientist.

+++

(Outside Initiative base night time)

Tara watched as Spike led them towards the back entrance of the Initiative. She was feeling all the anger from both Xander and herself at Finn and Walsh for what they were doing and she was barely holding it back, so that she could concentrate on what they were about to do. She could feel Xander was no better after being put through multiple tests throughout the day.

She looked over and noticed Faith and Cordelia were both looking very serious and she guessed they were looking forward to getting some revenge on the Initiative for what they were doing to their friend. She heard Xander tell her everything would be okay as they finally made it to the door and Spike opened it with the code Graham had given them. It was time, she thought, and she summoned her magic for the fight ahead.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Buffy listened as Walsh and Riley told her they were very pleased to hear she wanted to join them and quit the so called Scooby gang. She was smiling, thinking she had made the best decision and that this would help her do her duty much more than listening to Giles would.

Suddenly the base alarm went off, shocking all three of them as the sounds of fighting began to sound out.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, looking around.

"I don't know, but it sounds like someone has breached the base. Alert the guards! Move!" Walsh ordered as she headed to her office, whilst Riley led Buffy towards where the soldiers were stationed.  
13\. Chapter 13

Note: A big thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for helping out with this chapter.

Chapter 13

(Initiative Base)

Angel ducked the swing of the guard he was currently fighting and quickly righted himself and brought his fist into the man's face, breaking his nose, and then followed it up with a palm strike, which knocked the man out.

Their infiltration of the base had gone okay, until they had run into three guards, one of whom had been able to sound the alarm. Now they were meeting more and more resistance as they went deeper into the base. Tara, he had noted, had become more aggressive with her magic, causing more damage to their opponents as they went. Cordelia also seemed to make sure the soldiers went down quite hard, not that he could blame them really, considering what they had been doing not just to Xander, but to other innocents with powers.

"Angel?" a voice he recognized said from the next corridor and he turned to find himself face to face with Buffy, Finny and seven more guards. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she demanded to know.

"We're here to get Xander out after your boyfriend there kidnapped him and his boss started to experiment on him. Xander isn't the only civilian they've taken either," Angel shot back, not believing for a minute that his former lover would listen.

"Not you too, what is it with you lot trying to make the Initiative seem like the bad guys?" Buffy shouted. "Xander isn't here and neither is any other person who shouldn't be here," she added.

"Are you blind, Summers?" Cordelia snarled. "Has the bleach you use finally destroyed what small amount of brains you have left or are you just plain stupid?" she continued. "Your idiot of a boyfriend not only kidnapped Xander, he shot him and you dare turn a blind eye to it. Well, it's time for your wake up call," she hissed.

"Take them alive," Riley ordered to his men as Forest and five more guards turned up.

Tara's eyes began to glow an unearthly red and she slowly lifted off the ground as she called her magic to her before unleashing it in a tidal wave which knocked Buffy, Riley and the rest of the guards off their feet and into the nearby walls, allowing Angel and the others to get the jump on them.

Buffy quickly jumped back to her feat and charged against Angel, who had been going for Riley. She caught him in the chest with a powerful upper cut, but Angel quickly recovered and hit her full in the face with his fist, causing her to shift her stance and catch him in the side with a back kick before being forced onto the defensive as Angel stepped up his game.

Beside them Faith engaged Finn, wanting to get some revenge for what he had done to her friend. She was surprised to find Finn was able to keep pace with her blows and she wondered how it was possible for a normal person to be able to fight a slayer one on one. Wesley, Giles and Cordelia teamed up against three more guards, whilst Spike just did what he could, ignoring the pain from the chip inside his head, and wailed on the guards who came at him. Three more guards appeared, but instead of attacking the intruders, they attacked Forest and the five guards who had surrounded Tara, catching them off guard. Tara used the distraction to take two of the guards down with two spells, which caused the soldiers nervous system to be overloaded with pain, as she was in no mood to be merciful.

Across the base where the holding cells were, Graham and the major portion of his resistance group were fighting more of the military force of the Initiative. Xander was watching from his cell, waiting for the chance to escape and be able to help in the fight. He noticed Walsh had barricaded herself in a nearby office with two guards whilst the fighting continued. Finally Graham managed to take down the soldier he was currently fighting with a backhand followed up with an elbow to the back of the man's skull and quickly headed for Xander's cell. He punched in the code, which unlocked the door. Xander charged out, crashing into one of the enemy soldiers, consumed by the hyena and soldier spirits.

He head butted the guard in the face, followed up with a right and then left blow to the sides, winding the enemy soldier. He then lashed out with his left leg, catching the guard in the back of the man's right knee with enough force to break it, dropping the man to the ground crying in pain. He ignored the fallen soldier and attacked the next man, who was trying to bring Graham down with a choke hold. He snapped out his palm, stunning the man with a blow to the back of his neck and causing him to release his hold on Graham, who quickly recovered and went to help one of the scientists, who was part of his group in his own fight.

Xander now came face to face with the guard he had attacked and found this man much more of a challenge. He was put on the defensive more and more, but thanks to the hyena and soldier, he was able to call on more strength and tactics which quickly turned the tide of the fight as he caught the soldier with a hard blow to the man's gut, before following up with a knee to the man's sternum and then a head butt which stunned him, allowing Xander to put him down with a cold back kick to the man's exposed head.

Across the base Angel continued his fight with Buffy, having caused her several bad hits to the side and gut areas. But she had also managed to land some bad hits, and beside him Faith was beginning to gain ground against Finn as she caught him in the side with a snap kick which she followed up with a blow to the sternum with her closed fist, which put Finn to the ground. Then she just snapped her foot out again, catching Finn in the face as he tried to rise with enough force to break his nose once again, and knocked him cold.

Buffy noticed this and quickly snapped her fist out, catching Angel full on the face, knocking him to the side. She quickly attacked the unknown woman who had harmed her boyfriend. Faith saw Buffy coming and snarled as she came face to face with the girl who had almost killed her. She caught Buffy's first blow and landed her own with a head butt before following up with a snap kick which sent Buffy staggering backwards. Angel saw that Faith had things under control and attacked another guard, who had begun to fire his blaster at Tara, who was just managing to keep out of its sights by dodging the blasts aided by her magic.

Angel smashed into the man, knocking him into the wall. He grabbed the man's head and just rammed it into the wall, knocking him out cold. Tara nodded her thanks before turning to see Wesley, Giles and Cordelia take out the last of the guards they had been facing whilst the small group of resisters finished off the other guards who had come with Forest, who Tara had put down with a powerful shock spell. This left just Faith and Buffy fighting. The two slayers were equal in strength and speed, but Faith had one advantage that Buffy didn't had and that was the knowledge of street fighting she had gained before being found by her first watcher in Boston.

She caught the blond slayer in the face with a wicked right hand followed by a left and then a kick to her side which almost knocked her off her feet, but Buffy quickly retaliated, launching a flurry of left and rights blows, some of which Faith was able to block and some of which got through, catching Faith in her sternum and face and finally knocking Faith of her feet with a powerful kick to her chest. Before Buffy could follow up she was blown off her feet by Tara's magic and before she could get back up Tara unleashed a surge of magic which like the one she had used on the soldiers, overloaded the slayer's nervous system and knocked her out cold.

"How long do you think we have before they wake up?" Giles asked, as he looked around.

"They won't. I'm casting a spell which will keep them asleep for two hours. I won't be much help after this though, 'cause it will drain my reserves a lot, like the transportation spell did," Tara replied before anyone else could say anything.

"Cordelia, you stick with Tara. The rest of us will go and find Xander and Graham," Angel said after doing a quick sweep of the area.

"Xander, Graham and most of the other resisters are still fighting near the holding cells. They will need your help to finish this. Go," Tara informed them and Angel nodded before following the three resistance members to the cells, leaving Tara to cast her spell, guarded by Cordelia.

+++

(Willow's Dorm Room)

Willow sat in her chair. Thankfully her college roommate was not in. She thought over what had happened in the last few days and she still could not come up with a good enough choice. She was also thinking over what Joyce had said that day and that just caused her to become more confused.

She had been friends with Xander since they had been children, but since they had come to college she had to admit she had been neglecting her friendship with him more and more and was hanging around with Buffy more often. She had agreed with Buffy to keep Xander out of the fighting, just to have some peace from Buffy's constant arguments and this had caused a split with Xander and Tara, who for some reason seemed to be siding with Xander more and more. Then there had been an even bigger disagreement over the supposed attack on Riley. Riley had said Xander and Tara had attacked him for no reason and Buffy had believed him straight away, but Xander and Tara had stated that Riley and five of his men had tried to capture him and had even shot him.

This had caused her even more confusion, but when Riley had suggested Giles and Xander were trying to control Buffy, she had began to suspect Riley was playing them and was trying to weaken Buffy's friendships with the rest of the group. She feared he would try and do the same with her own friendship with Buffy later on. She couldn't make up her mind about whit whom she should stand with, but she had a feeling that the choice would soon be coming, one way or the other. If Giles' theory of Xander and Tara having been kidnapped by the Initiative turned out to be true. She sighed and tried to fall asleep as her thoughts continued to run wild inside her as did her emotions.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Xander growled as the soldier he was fighting landed a bad blow to his side, followed up by an uppercut, which stunned him. But he quickly regained his feet and launched his own attack, catching the overconfident man in the face and chest just as Angel, Faith, Giles, Wesley, Spike and three more of Graham's resistance movement appeared around the corner and crashed into the fight. He smirked, as the soldier allowed himself to be distracted by the new arrivals before lashing out with a hard kick to the man's chest and following up with a hard punch to the face, which finally put the man down.

He looked around and noticed the fight was almost over, now that fresh help had arrived. Faith was like wild fire, nailing one soldier after another with a combination of hard kicks and even harder punches, whilst Angel used his superior strength to just overwhelm the soldiers, who were unused to fighting a vampire with as much experience and strength as he had. The others worked together to bring as many of their opponents down as they could. He noticed the two guards and Walsh exit the office and try to make their way out of the fighting zone and so he quickly charged them, ramming into the closest guard, whilst Graham quickly jumped the other.

The fight was quick, but brutal, and Xander suffered some nasty shots to his upper chest and arms, but he finally managed to bring the man down with some help from Faith, who had finally finished off the guards. Just as Tara and Cordelia came around the corner Walsh pulled a pistol she'd had hidden in her lab coat and pointed it at Xander and fired. Xander tried to dodge it, but the bullet slammed into the back of his shoulder as he moved. Tara screamed in anger and unleashed the full brunt of her magic, which quickly returned to her in her fury, and lashed out at Walsh, who was sent flying into the nearby wall with enough force to cause a dent to appear in it as Walsh fell to the floor, completely out cold.

"Xander, you okay?" Faith asked as she knelt next to her friend.

"I've been shot again Faith, of course I'm not," Xander groaned as she spoke.

One of the resistance members rushed forward and began checking the wound.

"We can get it out, help me get him to the medical bay," she said, looking at Faith who nodded and slowly helped Xander to stand, quickly helped by Tara as well.

"Angel, kill all the demons and vamps in the cells and then put all of the Initiative who fought us in them, including Buffy," Xander said, as he looked at the souled vampire.

"Will do," Angel said with a lot more respect in his voice than he usually had when he addressed the young man.

"Graham, get your hackers working on the computers here. We need to know what Walsh was really up to and we better sweep the base and make sure that no other innocents are here," he added, before allowing himself to be led towards the infirmary.

"Alright, let's get to work killing these demons and vamps and then locking the prisoners up," Giles said, before Angel could say anything. "We will then sweep the base in search of any other innocents. Graham, you and your hackers can start on the computers, once Buffy and the others are locked up, okay?"

"That's a good plan, the faster they're in the cells, the better for us to do anything else we need to do," Graham responded.

"After that I am going to pick up Joyce and Willow and then we are going to have to figure out what to do about Buffy," Giles said, before he began to get to work on killing the demons and vamps the Initiative had captured.

The others nodded their heads in agreement and began to help in their tasks. In the infirmary Tara helped Xander through the pain of having a bullet taken out of him again and the wound closed whilst also helping to control the raging emotions they were both still feeling. Tara was pleased that she was finally by Xander's side once again and that the Initiative had been defeated, at least for the time being. It would be up to Xander to make sure it would not rise again, when he contacted the general once he had slept for a while.

"There, that should do it," the doctor said with a smile. "He should rest for an hour or so, but he should be fine now, as long as he doesn't get into any fights and reopens the wound," he added.

"Thank you doctor," Tara said with a smile as she felt Xander begin to fall asleep. "You better go and make sure no one else was seriously hurt, I'll stay with Xander," she said, to which the doctor nodded and left, whilst Tara joined Xander on the bed and snuggled as close to him as she could, without causing him any pain and began to fall asleep as well.

When Giles and Angel went to check on them an hour later they found them both fast asleep holding each other. They both smiled and left them in peace, whilst Giles went to collect Joyce and Willow and Angel went to see how Graham's hackers were doing.  
14\. Chapter 14

Note: A big thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for helping out with this chapter.

Chapter 14

(Willow's Dorm Room)

Willow jerked as someone knocked on her door, knocking her out of her conflicting thoughts and loyalties. She got up and made her over, asking who was there, and she was even more surprised to hear Giles on the other side. She quickly opened the door.

"What's wrong, Giles?" she asked, wondering if something had happened to Buffy or if he had found out what happened to Xander and Tara.

"I need you to come with me. There has been an incident concerning Xander, Tara, Buffy, the Initiative and Angel's team from L.A," Giles explained.

"Is anyone hurt?" she asked as she grabbed her gear.

"Xander was shot again, this time by Professor Walsh, but she was put down by Tara with extreme force. The others suffered some cuts and in three cases some broken bones," Giles responded as he watched the young witch close and lock her door before following him out to his car, where Joyce was sitting, waiting for them.

"Sadly, because Buffy chose to believe Riley's lies she has put herself in a bad position. Now that the time has come for us to deal with the Initiative so that they are no longer a threat," Giles told them both, as he started his car and headed back to the Initiative base.

"So Xander and Tara really were kidnapped by the Initiative?" Willow asked, feeling angry at herself for not believing her other friends, as well as shame.

"Xander was kidnapped, but Tara was not. She went to L.A to request the aid from Angel and his team, to help get him back and stop whatever it is that the Initiative is really up to," Giles answered. "We also found three other people the Initiative had captured because they had supernatural powers, such as magic," he added. "We let them go after they promised not to report any of what had happened to them," he continued. "Now we have to take a big risk to try and make sure the Initiative will never bother us again," he finally finished.

"In what way, Rupert?" Joyce inquired, not liking any of what she was hearing.

"Xander will be calling a general he knows of, thanks to the memories of the soldier he was possessed by, to come down and deal with Walsh and those Initiative personnel who supported her," Giles answered. "But it runs the risk of exposing him as having access to knowledge and experiences he is not supposed to have and he may be arrested. None of us can see a better way of dealing with Walsh though," he stated.

"What about the Watcher's Council? Can't they help?" Willow asked even as she thought she must be mad for suggesting such a thing.

"No Willow, because we are dealing with a recognized military installation, which if it went missing, would cause a huge investigation into what happened. An investigation that would most likely lead straight to us," Giles responded. "Also, we are not on very good footing with the council after Buffy quit and there are some other reasons for not bringing them into this. There is also the fact that Buffy is a part of the problem we now face and we do not want to give Travers and his supporters anymore ammo to use against us," he told them as they finally arrived at Lowell house.

The two women kept quiet as they followed Giles into the college frat house which hid the secret base, wondering how everything would work itself out.

+++

(Initiative Base)

Xander looked up as Giles returned with Joyce and Willow and he sighed, hoping things would not spin out of control, now that they were here. He watched as Joyce, who looked conflicted, while Willow continued to look confused, came to a stop in front of them. They stood near the main computer, where Graham's two hackers were breaking into the Initiative's secret files, which only Walsh had access to.

"Xander, where is my daughter?" Joyce asked, before anyone else could say anything.

"She is in one of the cells down the hall Mrs. Summers and will be waking up in a half an hour," Xander answered. "Tara cast a spell to keep her asleep until we could lock her up with the others. She came at Angel and Hope, refusing to listen to what they told her about Finn and the Initiative, so we had to fight her and finally Tara knocked her out with a nifty spell she knew," he explained. "I'm sorry that this became necessary, but she brought this down on herself, just like before, and now we have to make sure she won't do it again in the future. I just don't know how," he added.

Joyce sighed as she heard this and knew her daughter would not escape this without some form of punishment, which considering everything she had heard, would be well deserved. She nodded her head in agreement as Angel came over.

"I think it's time we call this general friend of yours Xander," he said after greeting Willow and Joyce. "We can't hold this place for long," he added.

"Okay. Luckily this place has such a huge communications facility and a big screen for conference calls," Xander said. "Graham, you're with me," he said as he headed for the communications room, followed by Graham who smiled at Joyce as he passed.

Just as Joyce was about to ask to be shown to her daughter Willow was roughly pulled around to face a very angry looking Cordelia, who was glaring at the red head so that she seemed to shrink a little into herself as the brunette began to lay into her for her actions and no one tried to stop her.

Joyce noticed Tara talking with the young woman who must be the woman Xander called Hope, not realizing it was in fact Faith, before allowing herself to be led by Angel and Giles to where Buffy was being held.

Inside the communications room Xander punched in the security code of Major Ryan Jackson after calling up the number of the general's base and hoped he was not making a huge mistake. He waited for a few seconds before the huge view screen blinked on and he was face to face with the general and another man, who must be his second in command.

"Who are you and how the hell do you know that code?" the general demanded to know and Xander found it hard not to smile as according to the soldiers memories, it seemed the general had not changed all that much.

"My name is Alex and as to how I got the code, well we had a supernatural incident a few years ago that led to me actually meeting Major Jackson's spirit," he lied, having decided this story may be the best way to do this. "Just before the end of that incident he came to understand we were fighting demons and vampires here on the Hellmouth and so he gave me a way to contact you, should we ever need help, and now is that time," he continued, hoping the general would believe his story.

"Do you actually expect me to believe that Alex? If that is your name," the general returned with a frown.

"I hope so, as it is what happened and I know you're most likely to say that Major Jackson would never give out the code to civilians, but you have to understand general, we guard the Hellmouth. The portal which, if opened, would unleash hell itself onto our world," Xander pressed on, hoping he could convince the general to believe his story. "The major believed that we might one day need the help and that is why he gave us the code before the spell, which brought his spirit back, was canceled," he continued.

"Let's say I believe you for now. What exactly is the problem?" the general asked.

"Not what you'd expect general," Xander replied. "Luckily we do not have a situation concerning the Hellmouth," he added. "But what we do have concerns a black ops unit, code name ‘The Initiative', which had gone totally off the rails. They have begun to go above and beyond their orders and have captured innocent civilians and experimented on them, including myself," he explained. "My friends plus some of the Initiative base personnel who disagreed with what was going on, had no recourse, but to take down the unit and lock them up. I've contacted you because we do not know how to deal with these people, who have violated their orders," he told him.

"I see," the general said as he whispered something to the man standing next to him, who immediately left. "You're telling me some of the base personnel staged a mutiny?" he asked.

"Not exactly. They helped us subdue a rogue element within their group," Xander countered. "This is the leader of the group who helped us, Corporal Graham Miller," he indicated Graham, who was standing nervously next to him.

"Tell me exactly what happened corporal," the general ordered and Graham obeyed, talking as clearly as he could and reporting everything that had happened since things began to change. By the time he had finished the man who had been standing next to the general had returned. "I see. This is very troubling," the general said with a shake of his head as he turned to the man and accepted a file he was handed and began to read it, leaving Xander and Graham to stand in silence, waiting. "Very well Alex, give me your location and status," he ordered.

"Sunnydale, California, the local college grounds. The base is hidden under Lowell house, one of the frat houses on campus," Xander answered without hesitation. "Our status is that all the Initiative people who violated their orders are locked up and we control the base," he added.

"I will be there personally in seven hours. Do not leave that base, is that clear Alex?" the general told him.

"Yes sir," Xander replied with a nod. "Thank you for your assistance," he added before the screen went black and he sighed in relief that the general was coming.

"That went well," Graham said as he followed Xander out of the room and back to the computers, both noticing the smirking Cordelia and the sulking Willow as they walked across the room.

"It could have gone worse, Graham, believe me," Xander assured him. "Okay, how are we doing with the files?" he asked the two hackers.

"We've managed to break in and some of what we've found is very worrying," one of the hackers reported. "It seems all of the military personnel of the Initiative have been drugged to increase their strength and stamina as well as keep them in a fight longer," he added, the answer causing frowns to appear on both men's faces. "Also, nowhere in our orders does it say we can arrest any civilians, no matter the circumstances. Our only objective was the demon and vampire populations," he stated.

"Bingo, just what we needed," Xander said with a smile. "Hard evidence Walsh has gone beyond her orders," he added as Tara came up to him and leaned against him, causing Xander to smile and he pulled her closer to himself, basking in her warm presence again. "Keep looking for anything else you can find, which will help our cause," he said before facing the others. "Okay everyone, the general and his team will be here in at least seven hours and once he is here, he will take control of the whole situation," he told them. "Giles, we're going to have to sort Buffy out before he gets here, okay?" he added.

"Very well. She should be waking up right about now. I will see if she is up to listening to us," Giles said before heading back to the cells, followed by Xander, Angel, Tara, Faith, Cordelia, Willow and Wesley, as Joyce was still at the cells, waiting for her daughter to wake up.

In the cell Buffy was indeed awake and was screaming at her mother and seconds later at her watcher to let her out. Next to her some of the others began to awake as well, including Riley and Forest. Walsh, it was noted, was still out cold, but considering the strength of Tara's attack, this was not a surprise to Giles.

"You will not be let out Buffy, not until we have dealt with what has happened," Giles replied. "You have ignored what Finn and his comrades have been up to and it almost cost Xander and four other innocent people more than you know. We have also managed to find out that Walsh has violated her orders and has also been drugging her soldiers illegally to enhance their strength and speed," he informed her. "The evidence is overwhelming and yet once again you have allowed your feelings for someone to cloud your judgment, and now you will have to pay for it," he stated in no unclear terms as the rest of the group appeared.

"Meaning what Giles?" Buffy demanded to know, not believing a word her former watcher had said, as Giles could tell by the look in her eyes.

"Meaning until we come to a compromise you won't be released and I would suspect that if you are still in there when the general arrives, you will have a much bigger problem in getting out of here without too much trouble," he advised her.

"What general?" Finn asked, beginning to feel uneasy about all of this.

"He's the leader of another black ops unit that deals with the supernatural. He hates those who go beyond their orders as you have Finn," Xander answered from his position behind Giles. "Plus, you and Walsh have both shot a civilian without authorization or need and you will have to deal with the fall out of these actions when he gets here," he added.

"I don't believe you," Finn spat. "How the hell could you have contacted anyone in the military?" he demanded to know.

"Buffy knows how I could. She was there when it happened, when we first met Ethan Rayne," Xander responded with an amused smile, as Buffy's eyes widened as she understood what he was alluring to.

"What does he mean Summers?" Forest asked, getting frustrated.

"When we first met Ethan, the black mage I told you about, he cast a spell which ended up with Xander getting possessed by a soldier of some kind," Buffy answered, frowning as she recalled those events. "It left him with some memories that he could use to our advantage at times," she added.

"And you never bothered to mention this Buffy" Finn asked in anger as he began to realize why Xander had proved such a challenge.

"It's got nothing to do with you, what happened in the past. Now shut up, we're talking to Buffy," Giles warned him with a dark look, having become fed up with listening to Finn's annoying voice. "Now Buffy, are you willing to listen to us or do you want to allow the general to decide what to do with you?" he asked.

Buffy frowned at Giles and the others before finally looking at her mother and noting the look she gave her, before sighing and nodding her head in agreement. She was allowed out of the cell and after having to knock Finn and Forest out again, the cell was relocked and Buffy was taken to the computers so she could be shown the evidence.  
15\. Chapter 15

Note: A big thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for helping out with this chapter.

Chapter 15

(Initiative Base, seven and a half hours later)

Xander looked up as the base elevator activated and he knew the general had finally arrived. He woke Tara, who had been using him as a pillow while she slept. He smiled as she slowly woke up. He couldn't help but notice how lovely she looked right at that moment and he leaned down and kissed her before they both stood up and joined the others as the elevator finally arrived and the general walked out alongside the man Xander and Graham had seen him with on the screen, as well as seven guards. More came from the location of the stairs and back entrance.

"No need for weapons general, we are not looking to fight you," Xander said, raising his hands in a symbol of peace.

"I like to be careful," the general responded as he looked around and returned the salute Graham and his men gave him. "So this is the Initiative. You know, we didn't know they existed until you called," he said. "It would seem an old enemy of mine, who had tried to take control of the unit from me, decided to set up his own, but it seems, if what you've reported is correct, all he's done is give me the ammo to finally remove him from his position," he stated with a smile.

"We have hard evidence that Walsh has violated her orders and even more than that," Xander replied.

"How so?" the general asked as his men secured the base.

"Walsh has been drugging her soldiers without their permission to enhance their strength, speed and stamina, all in preparation for turning them into super soldiers under her control through the use of some control chips she has been experimenting with on vampires and demons," Xander explained. "We've found her personal notes and files on what she was planning, as well as something code named project Adam, which was to create a special type of super soldier combining human, demon and technology. Her plan was to use it to gain more power for herself. We've found the half completed monstrosity in one of the labs," he went on.

"I see," the general said, not liking anything he was being told as it was clear to him Walsh was completely power mad. "Is there anything else I need to know?" he asked.

"Both Walsh and one of her soldiers, a corporal Riley Finn, have shot a civilian, namely me, without due cause or authorization. The first time Finn shot me, while he tried to capture me. The slug imbedded itself in my upper back," Xander answered. "Tara, my girlfriend, removed it and closed the wound. The bullet is back at my flat, hidden. I can retrieve it, if you want?" he asked.

"Colonel Williams will go with you and get that bullet to make sure it is not contaminated. Now, what about this second illegal shooting?" the general responded.

"It was during the fight to take the base. After we had basically won, Walsh pulled her pistol and fired at me. Had I not tried to dodge the shot, it most likely would have killed me. As it was, it lodged itself in my shoulder and the doctor there removed it. The bullet is still in the infirmary," Xander explained.

"Colonel, check that bullet first, then go and get the first one. Now, show me these files you found," the general ordered.

Xander nodded and led the general to the computer room where he was shown the evidence, as well as the files they had found in Walsh's office, which clearly showed how far she had gone in violating her orders. The general grew angrier as he continued to read the information and then when the colonel returned with the two bullets, he confirmed they had both been fired from a military issue side arm.

"Is this Walsh awake?" the general asked.

"She woke up a few minutes ago and tried to order the soldiers to release her," a nearby sergeant replied. "When they refused her orders, she threatened them," he added to which the general nodded his head.

The general began to interrogate the people who had followed Walsh, only having trouble when he came to Forest and Finn, who showed great arrogance and contempt, which did not impress the general, and Walsh proved just as resistant, even though it no longer mattered due to the evidence Xander and the others had found.

Two hours later, after a very long talk with Xander, Graham and his friends, the general agreed to take Graham and his people under his command and absolving them of the crime of mutiny considering the situation. He also agreed to lend support to both Angel's and Buffy's groups, the latter of which was represented by Giles, as Buffy was still sulking at what she had been forced to agree to. Walsh and Riley were arrested for attempted murder and violation of their orders as well as treason, as were those soldiers who refused to denounce Walsh, Xander was able to get Faith's status sorted out as well after the general questioned the whole group about what had happened during the fight against the mayor with some help from a polygraph machine, which had been used in all of the interrogations.

Xander had also managed to convince the general he did not have any more secrets that he had learned from Major Jackson thanks to Tara's magic and so he had not been arrested, and the last bit of business that was discussed was about leaving Graham his team and some of the general's own base to help hold down the Hellmouth, which was finally agreed on. Graham was promoted to the rank of sergeant and Colonel Williams was given command of the new until now renamed the Guardians, who were to work with Buffy and her team to keep the Hellmouth shut. It was also agreed that both groups would work with the general's team in the case of world ending threat and in return, they would receive supplies and pay.

By the end of the night everything had been worked out and the general had contacted the Joint Chief of Staff to report on what had happened. After half an hour he had reappeared and told them everything had been agreed to and they were to leave with their prisoners for their trials, as well as the half completed project Adam, which was to be destroyed. The general, who had ordered the formation of the Initiative Base, had been arrested too and stripped of his rank for his actions.

"Thank you for your help general. I can see why Major Jackson considered you a friend," Xander said as he shook the man's hand.

"Thank you for your help in taking down these traitors and I wish I could talk to Ryan one last time. I guess this is the last bit of help I will get from him," the general said in reply, not knowing the fact that Xander carried the soul of the major inside him.

"Sadly I'm afraid so, but he will be remembered general, for all the good he has done," Xander said as he listened to the spirit of Jackson within him.

"That he will," the general agreed before turning to his second in command. "Colonel, I will have the doctors here in a day or two to start help you to combat the effects of these drugs Walsh has been feeding Miller and his men. Until then, do not use them for any patrols. I want them at their best when they go out there, new weapons and supplies will be sent at the same time. Good luck with your new posting," he informed the colonel before shaking the man's hand and leaving, followed by his men and the prisoners.

"Well colonel, until you need us, we'll be heading home as we still have some things to discuss. I thank you for your help and Graham, I owe you a favor," Xander said before leading the others out of the base, leaving the new military unit behind to sort themselves out.

+++

(Summer's house)

Tara narrowed her eyes as she glared at Willow as she tried to apologize for not believing them about the Initiative. She was in no mood to accept any attempts at reconciliation after seeing Xander almost killed by Walsh, something that still caused a shiver to run up her spine.

Buffy remained silent, having already been ripped apart by Xander, Cordelia and Tara for her stupidity, and she was still hating the fact she had lost her boyfriend even as she struggled to come to terms with how wrong she had been about him and the Initiative. Xander also kept outwardly quiet, but talked to Tara over the bond about what they should do now that everything had been sorted out and finally coming to a decision.

"Enough Willow. It's going to take time for us to trust you again, okay? I'm sorry if that hurts, but it's the way things stand," Xander said, interrupting Willow's renewed attempts at apologizing. "Me and Tara are leaving Sunnydale and moving to L.A for a while," he announced. "Angel, I don't supposed you could use some more help up there?" he asked, facing the souled vampire who was surprised by the question.

Angel looked between Cordelia, Wesley and Faith and noted none of them objected to the idea of Xander and Tara coming to L.A to help them with their duties.

"We could Xander, and I would be pleased to have you join us, both of you," he said, having spoken to Xander and Buffy during the wait for the general and buried his past in Sunnydale as he had promised to, and whilst it had caused Buffy to cry at some of the things he had said, he felt better for having done it, knowing it might finally wake his former girlfriend up to her own flaws.

Xander nodded and smiled, as Tara sat in his lap and curled up against him, placing her head against his heart and listening to it beat as plans were put together for their move to L.A, as well as plans to bring the two groups closer together so that they could help each other should the need arise.

+++

(L.A, Angel and Chase Hotel five years later)

Xander sat with his wife Tara snuggled up against him as he listened to Angel tell them about his latest trip to Sunnydale with Wesley and how things were going with the Scooby gang. Xander and Tara had been prevented from going due to Tara being almost ready to give birth to their first child.

He sometimes still found it hard to believe how much things had changed. They had originally had intended only to stay in L.A for a year, but instead they had chosen to stay permanently, having become more comfortable there than in Sunnydale. They still visited their friends there, having patched up their problems in the five years since the Initiative had tried to capture him. They had helped contain multiple problems in Sunnydale and L.A alongside both main groups and the Guardians, until now led by Graham, who had become one of Xander's best friends.

Angel and Cordelia were now also a couple, thanks to Tara finding a way to lock the vampire's soul in place and so they could explore their love with no barriers. They had bought a hotel with some help from the general as a new base of operations and finally helped bring Wolfram and Hart to its knees, again with some help from the general and his own unit as well as the Guardians. Faith was finally back to her full potential, having put her past far behind her; she was now in a relationship with Graham, who visited quite often. Wesley had also found someone who had joined them in their fight and was now engaged to the former watcher. Angel was just telling them that Giles had proposed to Joyce, who had accepted, much to Buffy's annoyance and her sister Dawn's enjoyment.

Although the truth about Dawn's origin had thrown all of them for a loop, they had quickly accepted it and dealt with the hell goddess called Glory, who was hunting her. Xander had been forced to put a bullet through the head of her human host to stop her from capturing Dawn and killing Buffy in the process. That had caused some major problems with Buffy for the first in two years, but they had been dealt with thanks to Joyce and Giles, who had made Buffy realize that sometimes to protect your loved ones, you had to kill.

"So, Joyce is to become the new Mrs. Giles, huh?" he finally asked, breaking his train of thought.

"Yeah and we are all invited to the wedding, which thankfully will take place after Tara gives birth," Angel responded as Cordelia leaned against him.

"I wouldn't miss that if you paid me. It's about time, they've been dating for three years," Xander shot back with a smile. "Buffy can complain all she wants, but I think she secretly likes the idea as much as the rest of us do," he added.

"I agree," Tara said with a smile. "I think she complains just to annoy Joyce and Giles," she continued as she felt her unborn daughter kick her. "Did you feel that?" she asked Xander, whose hand rested on her abdomen.

"Yes I did, she's getting very strong," Xander said with a smile at his wife, whom he had married at the beginning of that year, just after Tara had told him they would be having a girl, although she still hadn't told him how she knew that.

"Have you thought of her name yet?" Cordelia asked. "You've been very secretive about it," she added. "I mean, I am her godmother. How can you keep it from me?" she said, trying to act wounded.

"Her name will be Jessica Jen Harris," Tara said with a smile, in honor of both Jessie McNally and Jenny Calendar.

"I think that's a very nice thing to do and I am sure Jessie and Miss Calendar would be pleased to know you've named your child after them," Cordelia said, liking the name completely.

"We'll let the others know when Tara gives birth, which should be in a few days. I'm beginning to get very nervous," Xander said with laugh.

"I can't say I blame you Xander," Wesley said from beside his own girlfriend Carla. "But I am sure there will be no problems when Jessica is born," he assured the young man.

"Oh we know there won't be. Tara has been praying to her goddess for the last two weeks for a quick clean birth and I'm sure she will grant us that," Xander said back, grasping the amulet Tara had given him that represented the goddess she believed in.

The others all nodded their heads and began to discuss other things until Tara fell asleep against her husband with a large smile on her face as she dreamed of the family she and Xander would have in the future, because she knew Jessica would not be the last child they'd have together. Xander just smiled at the look on her face before covering her with a blanket and continuing to talk to his friends, knowing the future was looking brighter from this point on and, once Jessica arrived, more exciting. At the back of his mind he could hear the hyena and the soldier, who had made all of this possible, give exultant cries of victory and success.

The End


End file.
